That Summer
by efficacious humorosity
Summary: Modern P&P. The arrival of a new family in the neighborhood breaks the monotony of summer for Jane and Elizabeth Bennet. But how much of a change will the arrival of Charley Bingley and Will Darcy have on the neighborhood, on the Bennets in particular?
1. The Breaking of the Boredom

A/N: I don't know, I felt like writing a new fic

**A/N: I don't know, I felt like writing a new fic. Don't ask. I still own nothing; Jane Austen is the genius! Please review and enjoy! **

Chapter 1

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth! Elizabeth Katherine Bennet!"

A blonde girl of about seventeen trotted through the living room of her house and past a nearly ancient piano. She stopped in about the middle of the room and said, "Lizzy? Where are you?"

"I'm right here," replied a quiet voice. The blonde girl looked around the room, startled, then realized that her sister was _under_ the piano. Squatting on the floor and crawling under the piano, the blonde said, "What are you doing under here, Lizzy?"

"Reading, what does it look like?" Elizabeth Bennet replied without looking away from the book she was reading. She turned the page, her bright blue eyes soaking in the words at a rapid pace.

Her sister turned her head to read the spine of the book. "_The Voyage of the Dawn Treader_," she read aloud. "_The Chronicles of Narnia_, Lizzy? Haven't you already read that?"

"Jane, I know you came here for some reason other than to criticize my reading habits," Lizzy said. Despite her sister's snarky comment, a corner of Jane's mouth kicked upwards in a crooked grin.

"Elizabeth, you always either have your nose mile deep in some book or you're heading down to the karate studio to kick someone's ass," Jane commented.

Smirking, Elizabeth dog-eared the page and closed the book, setting it gently on the floor beside her. Tucking a lock of her black hair behind her ear, she said, "What do you really want to talk to me about, Jane?"

Jane reluctantly allowed a broad smile to spread across her beautiful face. Lizzy smiled subconsciously, thinking that it was no wonder her sister was practically stalked by the boys of their high school. "Someone's moving in next door."

"Next door?" Lizzy exclaimed, her blue eyes growing wide as she sat up quickly. She succeeded only in bumping her head on the underside of the piano. Rubbing her head tenderly, she said, "No way. That's house has been empty for _years_. No one would be able to afford the renovations necessary to make it _fit to live in_"

"Apparently, someone can," her sister shrugged. Elizabeth thoughtfully wiped her sweaty palms on her denim shorts before wiping the perspiration off of her forehead. "A world-renowned surgeon is moving in, with her husband, three children, and her son's best friend."

"Surgeon?" Lizzy said, her eyes growing wider. Jane chuckled, knowing how eager her sister would be to meet their soon-to-be neighbors. It was Elizabeth's dream to become a surgeon, and she practically worshipped any surgeons she met.

"Yes," Jane nodded. "See? I have a good reason for disturbing your reading."

"I suppose so," her younger sister admitting, somewhat grudgingly. "You're forgiven."

The blonde sister smiled. "Thought so."

"So when are they moving in, Jane?" Elizabeth asked, hugging her knees to her chest. While waiting for her sister to reply, she examined her toes, which she had painted black just the previous week, when she had finished out her sophomore year of high school.

"In two days," Jane said excitedly, clasping her hands together.

"Oh, thank God," Lizzy breathed, leaning her head back against the leg of the piano in relief. "I was afraid I was going to have to suffer through this boredom until August."

"And there's even _better_ news," her sister added, sounding anxious to share what she ahd to say.

"Better than people moving in next door?" Elizabeth said, raising a single skeptical brow at her older sister. "Pray, do enlighten me."

"The Lucases are throwing them a welcome party the day they move in," Jane told her, her smile growing wider.

"And why didn't Charlotte tell me about any of this?" Lizzy demanded, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "I'm going to send her a strongly worded text message."

"I asked her not to," Jane said quickly, closing her sister's phone before she could text Charlotte. "I wanted to tell you myself."

"Well, in that case, I guess Charlotte's off the hook," she said begrudgingly. "But just this once."

"I'm going to go tell Mom, Dad, Lydia, Kitty, and Mary, okay?" Jane said, patting her sister's knee before she carefully climbed out from under the piano.

"Sure," Elizabeth chirped, picking up _The Voyage of the Dawn Treader_ and opening it again. "Go right ahead." As she turned the page, as she had done already so many time that summer, she couldn't help but feel that everything was about to change.

TSTSTSTSTS

Whatever Elizabeth had been expecting when she returned home from the karate studio, it certainly hadn't been for her mother and two of her younger sister to attack her with curlers. "Get away from me!" she shrieked, easily sidestepping her mother and Lydia and Kitty. "What do you all think you're doing?"

"We're trying to curl your hair, Lizzy!" Lydia pouted, slowly advancing with a curling iron again. "If only you'd stay still…"

"Uh-uh," she shook her head. "Why in the world would I curl my hair?"

"Lizzy, don't be so stubborn," Mrs. Bennet scolded her second eldest daughter. "We're going to the Lucases for the welcoming party for the Bingley's and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Elizabeth said, holding up her hand defensively. "I still don't get what that has to do with me curling my hair?"

"You should at least look decent, Lizzy, not like you normally do," her mother said. "And must you always paint your nails black? It's far too severe, dear."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm going to go get ready on my own. I'll look fine, I promise."

Mrs. Bennet pursed her lips together. "Fine," she snapped. "But make it quick. We don't want to be late."

Elizabeth kept her word and emerged from her room looking fresh. Her hair had been washed and straightened, and she had donned a denim miniskirt and a light blue halter top. "Elizabeth, you look gorgeous," Jane complimented her sister when she climbed into the car.

"Thanks," she said. "You don't clean up too bad yourself."

Jane had succumbed to her mother's wishes and curled her normally straight blonde hair and tied it into a high ponytail. She was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a pink tank top. Jane smiled at her sister. "Thanks."

It only took ten minutes to reach the home of Charlotte Lucas from the Bennet house, but by the time they did arrive, Elizabeth was quite ready to pull her hair out, roots and all. Lydia and Kitty simply would not shut up about Lindsay's Lohan's latest stint in rehab, Mary insisted on ranting on and on about chemistry, though no one was listening to her, her mother was fussing over all five of her daughters, and her father was making sarcastic comments all the way to the Lucas house.

"Thank God," Lizzy breathed, practically jumping out of the car and managing to land softly on the green grass of Charlotte's front yard. Waiting only for Jane, she trotted cheerfully up to the front door, her sister right on her heels. She rang the door bell and waited anxiously for the door to open.

"Lizzy!" Charlotte Lucas cried upon seeing her at the door. Her light brown hair was tied back in the bun and her green eyes sparkled with laughter. "Come on in, I'm so glad you're here."

"Good to see you too, Lottie," Lizzy said. "Nice party."

The music in the living room could be heard from the foyer, thumping through the walls. Lizzy could easily pick out the strain of the "Electric Slide" from where she was standing.

"My mom put it all together," Lottie admitted, sweeping a loose strand of hair off of her forehead. "I think she's hoping I'll hook up with Janice Bingley's son. He's our age, you know."

"What's his name?" Jane asked, sounding interested, as they entered the living room.

"He's just over there," Lottie said, pointing at the far left corner of the room at a redheaded boy. "His name is Charley."

"Charley Bingley," Jane said slowly, staring at him from across the room, captivated.

"Who's the guy standing next to him that looks as if he just swallowed a whole pack of sour Skittles?" Lizzy snorted, indicating the dark haired boy standing next to Charley, if it could be called standing. He was leaning against the wall as if it were the only thing keeping him upright, looking extremely bored.

"That's Charley's best friend, Will Darcy," she replied. "He's living with them. No one really knows why, though."

"Charley Bingley," Jane repeated, still entranced by the redheaded boy.

Rolling her eyes, Lottie grabbed one of Lizzy's hands and of Jane's and started leading them towards Charley. "Come on, I'll introduce you."

Lizzy smiled back at Jane, who merely looked dazed. Lottie brought them in front of the two boys. "Hi, Charlotte," Charley greeted in a friendly manner. Will did nothing to acknowledge their presence.

"Hey, Charley," she said, smiling. "These are my friends, Jane and Elizabeth Bennet."

"Hi, Elizabeth," Charley smiled. "Hi, Jane." His gaze lingered far longer on Jane than it had on Elizabeth. "I'm Charley Bingley." He shook both their hands, before jerking his head at Will and saying, "This is my best friend, Will Darcy."

"Nice to meet you," Lizzy said, in an attempt to make a conversation with the dark-haired boy.

"Charmed, I'm sure," Will said. If he was trying to sound sincere, he was failing miserably.

"Oh, I love this song!" Jane gasped, as "Hips Don't Lie" began to play.

"Come on, then. Let's dance!" Charley said eagerly, leading her by the hand into the mosh pit of people dancing. Lottie surreptitiously snuck off to grab a soda, leaving Elizabeth alone with Will.

How delightful.

"Do you dance, Will?" she asked, trying yet again to strike up a conversation.

"Only if I have to," he grunted. Without another word, he stalked past her and disappeared into the throngs of people.

Elizabeth merely gaped after him in shock. "That _ass_," she muttered, just as Lottie joined her again.

"Who's the ass?" she asked. "And where's Will?"

"Same person," Lizzy replied. "Will is the ass. I've never seen someone so antisocial in my life."

Lottie shrugged. "Charley's friendly enough for the both of them."

Out of curiosity, Elizabeth scanned the crowd, looking for the ass himself. She spotted him talking to a redheaded girl, who facial expression conveyed that she had recently shoved a stick up her crack. "Who's the redheaded girl?" Lizzy asked Lottie, jerking her head in Will's direction.

"That's Caroline Bingley, Charley's sister," Charlotte replied. "You didn't hear this from me, but she's a real bee-yotch."

"I can believe that," Elizabeth snorted. "Look at her face. She looks constipated."

Lottie laughed, fighting hard to keep from snorting soda out of her nose. After a few moments of watching other people dance, Lottie said, "Do you want to go to my room? I'm kind of sick of this."

Elizabeth nodded, allowing Charlotte to take her by the hand and pull her through the crowds of people. When they passed Will, he was talking to Charley.

"What about Elizabeth?" Charley was saying. Both Lottie and Lizzy froze. In silent agreement, they paused just around the corner, out of sight, but still within earshot of Charley and Will.

"What about her?" Will drawled, sounding bored.

"I left you talking to her," his friend replied. "What'd she say?"

"Not much; I left," Will replied, and Elizabeth could almost imagine him shrugging.

"God, Will, you're such a bastard!" Charley hissed, lowering his voice considerably. "Did you just leave in the middle of the freaking conversation?"

"It doesn't matter," he said. "She's no one. Not ugly, but certainly not good enough for my tastes."

Charley snorted. "One day, Will. One day you will eat your words."

Wordlessly, Charlotte pulled Elizabeth the rest of the way to her room. Elizabeth sat down her bed as Lottie closed the door and joined her. "I can't believe he said that, Lizzy," she told her friend, shaking her head. "You know it's not true, right?"

"Of course I do," Elizabeth said. "Why would I give a flying shit about the opinion of one ass named William Darcy?"


	2. When Visiting At the Bingleys

A/N: If I did own it, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction

**A/N: If I did own it, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction. Please leave and review and enjoy! **

Chapter 2

"Lizzy, your phone is ringing."

Christopher Adams looked expectantly up at Lizzy, who was currently sparring Jacob Matthews.

"Could you answer it for me, Chris?" Lizzy spat out through her mouthpiece, aiming a quick side kick at Jacob's middle. "I'm a little busy here."

"Sure," Chris said, flipping open the phone.

Meanwhile, Jacob aimed a back fist at Lizzy's temple, which she easily block, landing a strong middle punch in his stomach. "Good one," he choked out.

"Um… Elizabeth?" Chris said, sounding uncertain and holding Lizzy's phone away from his hair, his hand cupped over the receiver. "It's Jane. She says it's importantly."

Huffing, Lizzy ripped off the Velcro strap of her helmet and spat out her mouthpiece. "Sorry, Jake," she said, bowing off the mat and taking her phone from Chris.

"It's okay," Jake said weakly, clutching his stomach. "I was getting the crap beaten out of me anyway."

"Hello?" Lizzy said into the receiver.

"_Lizzy, it's me_," Jane said. She sounded weak, even over the phone.

"Jane, are you sick?" Elizabeth said, concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"_Yeah, I'm sick_," she replied. "_I'm over at Charley's house_."

"Charley's house?" her sister asked incredulously. "How the hell did you end up there?"

"_Caroline, you know Caroline Bingley_?"

"Yeah, Charley's sister. Of course. Go on."

"_She invited me over for lunch. I came, and I was having a good time, but then I started to feel real shitty and I started puking my guts up. Charley's willing to help me get back home, but no one's there and I didn't bring keys._"

"You need me to pick you up then, I assume?" Lizzy said.

"_If you could, that'd be a big help._"

"Of course I can, Jane, you're sick," she said. "I'm at the karate studio, so I'll get there as soon as I can, okay?"

"_Sure. Thanks a ton._"

"No problem. See you soon." She closed her phone. "Sorry to leave you hanging, Jakey, but I've got to go. Jane's sick at Charley's house, she doesn't have keys, and no one else is home."

"Charley?" Chris asked, raising his eyebrows curiously. "As in Charley _Bingley_?"

"The very same," Elizabeth said, taking off all of her sparring gear and packing into her bag. "The son of Janice Bingley. I did tell you guys that the Bingleys moved in next door, didn't I?"

"No, you most certainly did not," Jake said, sounding irritated that she had forgotten to inform them of such an important detail.

"Thanks for leaving us out of the loop, Lizzy," Chris joked.

She rolled her eyes at him, but hugged him nonetheless, saying, "See you later. Bye, Chris." She then hugged Jake, bidding him farewell as well.

"Are you coming tomorrow?" Jake called after her.

"If I'm not, I'm either being held captive or dead," she joked, walking out the door. "Bye!"

TSTSTSTS

Lizzy rang the door bell of the Bingley house hold about fifteen minutes of hot jogging later. Charley opened the door and smiled upon seeing her. "Lizzy, it's nice to see you," he said, reaching forward to hug her.

"You don't want to give me a hug," she said before he could get any closer. "I jogged all the way here in the heat from the karate studio, where I was training for about an hour and a half straight. I do _not_ smell pretty."

"Point taken," Charley said, chuckling and back away. He stepped back to allow her inside.

Will and Caroline were sitting in the living room, and both of them looked surprised to see her there. Will stood awkwardly and nodded his head at her before resuming his seat. Caroline merely wrinkled her nose at her and said, "Good God, Lizzy, did you run the Boston Marathon?"

"No, I just came from my karate studio," she replied. At this, Caroline only looked further disgusted. After a few moments of awkward silence, Elizabeth said, "How's Jane?"

"She's upstairs," Will answered quickly, meeting Elizabeth's gaze for a split second before darting his eyes back downward. She raised a single brow at him quizzically, but said nothing.

"Come on, I'll bring you to her room," Charley said, leading Elizabeth up the stairs. From there, he led her down the hallway of the old house, floorboards squeaking as he went. He knocked on the door of the last room on the right. "Jane? It's me. Lizzy's here."

"Come on in," she called weakly. Both Charley and Elizabeth entered the room, and Lizzy was shocked with her sister's appearance. Jane was paler than Lizzy had ever seen her before, and she looked utterly terrible.

"You look like _shit_," she said, sitting down at the foot of the bed.

"Thanks, Liz," Jane snorted. "I love you too."

"I'm just saying," she shrugged. "How many times have you upchucked so far?"

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Four."

"Four? Jeez, Jane! What's that? Enough to fill a freaking bathtub?"

Jane flushed furiously, glancing sideways at Charley, worried that he would find Lizzy repulsive.

However, Charley was laughing. "That's the reason she's in this room. It's the only free room with its own bathroom."

"Thanks so much for taking care of her, Charley," Elizabeth said, smiling up at the redheaded boy gratefully.

"Thanks," Jane echoed.

"No problem." Charley shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets and blushing furiously.

"You want to go home, Jane?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, please," her sister croaked.

"Just let me get my keys out." She rummaged around in her duffel bag before scowling and saying, "You're going to hate me, Janey."

"What?" she groaned, sensing that she wasn't going to like what her sister was about to tell her.

"I lent my keys to Lydia this morning because I thought you'd be at home all day," Elizabeth said, grinning apologetically.

"So we have to wait for someone to get home?" Jane moaned.

"Basically, yeah," she said. "I'm sorry, Jane. I completely forgot until just now."

"It's okay, Liz," Jane said, covering her eyes with her hands. "Thanks for coming."

"You sleepy?" Elizabeth asked, cocking her head at her older sister. The blonde girl nodded. Standing, she said, "Come on, Charley. Let's let her sleep."

"Sure," he said good-naturedly. They left the room and he closed the door behind them. As she followed him back down the stairs, he said, "Is she going to be okay?"

"She should be," Lizzy replied. "It's probably just a stomach virus or something."

"Good, I was worried," Charley commented as they entered the living room. In the time that they had been absent, Will had obtained a laptop and was now typing on it, his eyes trained on the screen. Caroline was reading over his shoulder, practically breathing down his neck. It was easy to tell from the irritated glances he kept sending her way that it was annoying him to no end. He glanced up when they entered the room.

"Hi," he mumbled, grudgingly returning his eyes to the screen.

"You type so fast, Will!" Caroline exclaimed, putting a flirty hand on his shoulder and squeezing it. It was all Elizabeth could do not to collapse in hysterical laughter on the spot. Instead, she only snorted and glanced sideways at Charley, who looked embarrassed on his sister's behalf.

"You're wrong, Caroline," Will said, his eyes still focused on whatever he was typing. "I type slowly."

"Who _are_ you e-mailing?" Caroline, staring at the laptop as though she had never seen one before.

"I'm e-mailing Gee," he replied. As an afterthought, he looked up at Lizzy and met her gaze, saying, "Gee is Georgiana, my younger sister."

"Ah," Lizzy said interestedly. "Where is she, exactly, if you don't mind my asking?"

"She opted to stay at her boarding school in New York," Will replied, managing to make eye contact with Elizabeth yet again.

"How old is she?"

"She's twelve," he replied.

"And yet I bet she's more mature than _my_ younger sisters," Elizabeth muttered. Charlie chuckled appreciatively, and, though no one noticed, Will allowed a small smile to spread across his face behind the cover of the monitor.

However, Caroline said, "Yes, I did notice some improper behavior on the behalf of your younger siblings, Lizzy. I noticed that the two youngest were quite lacking the brain department."

Lizzy smiled and said nothing, but Charley could've sworn that he heard her mutter something about pots and kettles. Lizzy sat down on a recliner across the room, a safe distance from Caroline and Will. Curiously, she picked up a book that had been lying on the coffee table. Reading the spine, she said, "_The Lord of the Flies_? Who here has such good taste in books?"

"That would be Will," Charley replied eagerly for his friend, who merely glanced up from his typing to glare at the redhead. "I think he likes to read more than he likes to socialize with other people."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Elizabeth muttered under her breath. Though she was busy perusing through the book, Will visibly stiffened upon hearing her comment, looking somewhat offended. Finding one of her favorite spots in the book, she began to read in earnest.

After about fifteen minutes of silence, filled only by the turning of pages and the steady typing of Will's fingers, Caroline sighed dramatically and stood, walking over to where Elizabeth was seated. "Will you walk around the room with me, Lizzy?"

She looked up, surprised, but closed the book and set it down nonetheless. "Sure," she said, sounding uncertain even to her own ears. Caroline linked their arms together, leading Elizabeth about the room in a wide circle, her hips swaying wildly. Elizabeth fought to stifle a snort of laughter.

"Won't you join us, Will?" Caroline asked as they passed behind him seated on the couch. "We could use a _man_."

"I'm hardly a man, Caroline, I just turned seventeen last month," Will replied, not bothering to look up from the screen. "Besides, you're either trying to tell Lizzy something you don't want the rest of us to hear, or you're trying to get me to admire your figure, as you have been doing in the twelve years I've known you, Caroline."

That was it. Lizzy let out a loud snort. "Oh, burn." She glanced at Charley, who laughing as he watched what must look like something out of a circus in his own living room.

After a few more rounds about the room, Elizabeth excused herself from Caroline's arm and resumed her seat, opening the book again. Before she resumed her reading, however, she looked up at Charley and said, "Thanks so much for letting us stay here. I'm really sorry about all of this."

"No worries, eh?" Charley said. "It's fine. I don't mind taking care of you and your sister."

"Still… thanks," Elizabeth said. "I'm really sorry I forgot my keys. We would've been out of here as soon as I got here."

"I think I speak for both Charley and me when I say that we enjoy your company," Will said, finally looking up from the computer screen. He had been so quiet in the past few moments that Elizabeth had nearly jumped out of her seat when he spoke.

"Me too," Caroline added grudgingly, looking as though she'd rather have a root canal she didn't need than tell Elizabeth that she enjoyed her company.

"Well, thanks," Lizzy said. Looking out the window, she noticed lights on in her house. "Hey!" she said brightly. "Someone's home!"

"I'll help you get Jane over there," Charley offered, already heading up the stairs, Lizzy hot on his heels.

When Charley returned home after seeing Elizabeth and Jane safely to their house (though it was only next door), he found Will alone in the living room, the laptop sitting closed on his lap. "Finished e-mailing Gee?" he asked curiously. Will nodded. Charley sat next to him, saying, "Okay, what's up with _you_, man? You were acting weird the whole time Elizabeth was here."

"I was _not_," Will protested, his eyes growing wide.

"Yeah, you were. You were acting like…" Charley paused as realization dawned on his face, "... you were acting like you liked her! Ha!" He punched his friend on the arm. "I knew it!"

Will glared at him. "I do _not_ like her. I told you. She's no one."

"Then why were you so nice to her?" Charley said.

"I was trying to be civil-" Will protested, but his redheaded friend cut him off.

Charley smirked triumphantly. "You were far more than civil. You told her that you 'enjoyed her company.' You never tell anyone that, Will. You like her."

"What if I do?" Will grumbled.

"Come on," Charley said, poking Will in the ribs. "What made you like her?"

Grudgingly, Will admitted, "First, it was her eyes. Second, it was the fact that she cared enough about her sister to run all the way here in the heat. Then, it was her love of books. Then, it was…" His voice trailed off as he stared off into the distance blankly.

"Haha!" Charley said victoriously. "Then it was everything about her! Will and Lizzy sitting in a tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Oh, shut up, would you?" Will said angrily, stalking out of the room and up the stairs to his room.

Nothing could ruin Charley's mood. Shaking his head, he said, "Young love."


	3. The Trouble With Shirtless Boys

A/N: Don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Thanks for all the reviews, and please keep it up! I love it! ;) **

Chapter 3

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth!"

"Oh, shit," Elizabeth muttered, running as quickly as she could down the sidewalk of her street. After karate, she had changed into a pair of blue shorts and a white t-shirt and flip flops, and Hugo Collins had, unfortunately, started following her. Glancing behind her, she realized that he was closing in on her. There was no way she'd make it back to her house without him catching up to her. In a last ditch attempt, she jumped the fence enclosing the Bingleys' back yard, planning just to cut through the yard and head to her house. However, she was surprised to see Charley and Will relaxing in a hot tub.

Shirtless.

Gulping, Elizabeth wondered vaguely how she was going to explain herself. "I…er…"

"Good to see you, Elizabeth," Charley laughed. "But somehow, this wasn't how I imagined we'd meet again."

"Sorry about this," she said. "It's just… this really stalkerish guy from karate is following me, and I was hoping to cut through your back yard to lose him."

"Lizzy!" came Hugo's voice from the other side of the fence. "I know you're in there!"

"That's him," she grimaced, as he scratched at the fence, trying to climb over it. "Oh, great, he's going to find me."

"Here," Will said, shocking her as he stood from his sitting position in the tub, exposing the pale lines of his chest, and taking her duffel bag from her in a gentleman-like manner. He tossed it under a chair that was sitting near the hot tub. "Get in."

"What?" she gaped at him.

Looking as though he were about to lose his patience, he said, "Get in the hot tub. Do you want him to find you?"

She was about to protest and say that she'd rather take her chances by continuing on to her house, but Hugo's hand suddenly appearing over the edge of the fence. "Fine," she grumbled and climbed into the pool.

A loud thump could be heard as Hugo tumbled over the edge of the fence and landed on the grass. "Get down," Charley hissed at her, pushing her under the water. She managed to take a deep breath before she was completely submerged. She only hoped she would be able to hold her breath until Hugo left.

"Oh my word," Hugo said upon seeing Charley and Will in the hot tub. "Mr. Charles Bingley. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. How nice to meet you."

"Thanks, but I prefer Charley," Charley told him in an attempt to be civil. Will merely glared at him.

"Oh," Hugo said, finally realizing that he had intruded on their privacy. "I'm so sorry about this intrusion… but have you seen Elizabeth Bennet? I was walking her home from karate, though I do despise the sport."

"No, we haven't seen her," Will lied through gritted teeth. "I wish I could be of more help."

"Oh, no, Mr. Darcy. You've been all the help in the world," Hugo said, edging towards the fence again. "I'll just… be going."

"Nice to meet you!" Charley said, fighting the urge to laugh hysterically.

As soon as Hugo was over the fence, Lizzy's head broke the surface as she began gasping for breath. "Thanks so much, Charley, Will," she gasped. "I don't know how else I would've gotten rid of him."

"Imagine if he knew where you lived," Charley suggested, laughing at the mere thought.

Elizabeth's eyes grew wide with horror. "Don't even speak of such a thing, Charley Bingley. Or I'll kick your ass so hard you'll be going backwards."

Will snorted. "Looks like someone beat you to it."

"Oh, burn," Lizzy said.

"Thanks, _buddy_," Charley said sarcastically, glaring at Will.

Lizzy glanced down at herself and finally realized that she was wearing a white t-shirt.

A _wet_ white t-shirt. And no bra. Honestly, why would she need to wear a bra to walk back home from karate?

Folding her arms over her chest, she stood and said, "I think I'm going to go home."

"What?" Charley said, feigning shock. "We save your ass and we don't get _hugs_? For shame, Elizabeth Bennet. For shame."

"But- I…" Elizabeth spluttered, not sure how to explain her situation.

Oh, hell. There was no way she was explaining this to two teenage boys. Grudgingly, she hugged Charley, who patted her back in a friendly manner. She then turned to hug Will. As her arms wrapped around him, he stiffened at first. But then he responded by wrapping his strong arms around her waist, crushing her to him for a few awkward moments.

After what seemed an eternity and Will still hadn't released her, Elizabeth cleared her throat loudly. "Oh," he said, releasing her and blushing as he sat down again.

"I'll just be going," she said, blushing herself and climbing out of the hot tub. "Again, thanks." With that, she jumped over the fence again and returned to her house.

Around eight that night, Elizabeth heard the doorbell ring. She was reading under the piano, as was her custom during the summer. "I've got it!" Jane called, heading for the front door and playfully kicking Lizzy when she passed.

Elizabeth looked up from her book briefly. "I'll get you for that one, Janey!"

She heard Jane chuckle and open the door. "Oh, hi, Will."

"Hi," came Will's deep voice. "Is Lizzy home?"

"Yeah, she is," Jane chirped. "Liz! Will's here!"

Elizabeth closed her book and rolled out from under the piano and trotted to the front door. "Hi, Will. Come to rub in you and Charley's spectacular rescue in my face again?"

"Rescue?" Jane said, cocking her head at her sister curiously.

"I'll tell you later," Elizabeth said.

"Actually, no, I'm not," Will said, producing Elizabeth's duffel bag from behind his back. "You left this at Charley's house after you left the hot tub. I figured I'd bring it over."

"Hot tub?" Jane echoed, a single brow raised. "What were you _doing_ today, Elizabeth Katherine Bennet?"

Will raised a quizzical brow at learning her middle name, but said nothing otherwise.

"Thanks for bringing it over, Will," Elizabeth said, truly surprised that he would do something so sweet.

He shrugged, embarrassed, and stared at his shoes for a moment. "Oh," he said, looking up, "and Charley wanted me to invite the two of you to his birthday party on Friday."

"Sounds great!" Jane said, sounding excited. "Where is it?"

"It's at our house," Will said, jerking his head in the direction of the Bingley home.

"Birthday party, huh?" Elizabeth said thoughtfully. "When's Charley's birthday?"

"Same day as the party," he replied. "Friday."

"Thanks for inviting us," Jane said.

Will shrugged again and glanced at his watch. "I better go. Bye, Jane. Bye, Elizabeth." He glanced back at Elizabeth as he headed down their porch steps, his gaze lingering on her far longer than it should have.

"Bye," Jane called after him cheerfully, waving her hand. She shut the door and turned to her younger sister. "What was _that_ all about?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Elizabeth shrugged. "I'll never understand men."

"And what were you doing in a hot tub?" Jane asked.

"You see," Lizzy said, laughing. "It's a long story. It all starts with a stalker named Hugo Collins, who followed me home from karate today…"

TSTSTSTS

"You're hysterical, George," Lizzy laughed, as she walked home from karate the following day. She had stopped by Starbucks to pick up a Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino. That's where she had run into George, who actually worked at the local Chick-Fil-A.

"I'm nothing compared to you, Lizzy," he chuckled. "You're like funny incarnate."

She snorted into her frappuccino. "Okay, now you're laying it on the thick."

"I've seen you come in for your chicken, egg, and cheese bagel so many mornings, but I never knew you were such a riot," he commented, gazing at her with laughing, gorgeous blue eyes. He shook his head of brown hair. "I thought you were just another mindless customer clone."

"Thanks, George," Elizabeth said sarcastically. "It's great to know that up 'til now, you thought I had no personality."

"Sorry," George shrugged, laughing again. "So… you live around here?"

"Yep," Lizzy nodded, her lips smacking on the 'p'. "Thanks for walking me home."

"How could I let a beautiful girl like you walk all the way home all by herself?" he said, a teasing grin playing at his lips.

"Keep in mind that that 'beautiful girl' is a black belt, who's working on her second degree," she said, raising a single, skeptical black brow at him.

"Oh, right," he said. "There is that." He glanced at the Bingley's house, which was coming up on their right. "I heard that _the_ Janice Bingley moved into this neighborhood."

"She sure did," Elizabeth replied. "Right next door to my family, in fact."

"No way," George said, his lower jaw dropping. "_The _Janice Bingley moved in next door?"

"You betcha," she said, taking another sip of her frappuccino. Suddenly, she saw Will Darcy jogging in their direction, head down in a determined manner, shirtless.

Elizabeth nearly choked on her frappuccino. Honestly, was she cursed or something? How many times was she going to see him shirtless?

Will looked up at he neared, perhaps distracted by Elizabeth's slurping. His mouth opened to greet her when he saw Elizabeth, but then closed again when he saw George. His face turned bright red as he pursed his lips together, his eyes glinting fiercely in the summer sun. "Elizabeth," he said, only managing to remain civil for her sake.

Wondering what could cause Will to have such extreme mood swings, she said, "Hey, Will." She glanced sideways at George, who was as red as a tomato as well.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," she said, putting herself between the two boys. "Down, boys." Looking between the two angry, red-faced boys, she said, "What's going on?"

"What's going on is that this dickhead is withholding my inheritance from me!" George growled. "Our fathers were close, and when his died, he left me one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, which I've never gotten a penny of."

"Is this true, Will?" Elizabeth said, turning to face him.

"Yeah, Will," snarled George. "Is it true?"

"I'm not even going to deign that with a response," Will said, stalking past George and Elizabeth. "You know as well as I what happened." With that, he was gone.

George accompanied her to her house, but remained silent in his anger. "You should come to Charley Bingley's birthday party tomorrow night," she told him. "It's at his house." She jerked her head in the direction of the Bingley home.

"Is Will going to be there?" George grunted.

"Well… yeah," she admitted. "But you shouldn't let him scare you off."

"I won't," he said, a small smile slowly spreading over his handsome face. "I'll be there."

Later that night, Elizabeth explained the whole encounter to Jane. "I can't believe it," Jane gasped, looking at her sister incredulously. "That doesn't sound like Will at all."

Elizabeth eyed her sister skeptically. "Have you paid _any_ attention to him this whole time? He's one of the biggest jerkwads I've ever met."

"He did bring your duffel bag over," Jane pointed out.

"Probably just so he wouldn't have to see me over at his house." Elizabeth texted Charlotte about the confrontation.

"I don't know, Lizzy," Jane said, sounding uncertain. "I don't think you're giving him enough credit."

"Jane, you always think the best of people," Elizabeth said, turning back to look at her sister.

"Aw, thanks, Liz."

"But it's not always a good thing." Elizabeth closed her phone.

"Way to ruin the moment." Jane threw open the doors to their closet, trying to pick out an outfit for the party the next night.

Suddenly, Elizabeth's phone began to ring. "Hello?" she said.

"_Hey, Lizzy. It's me_." It was Chris.

"Oh, hey, Chris," she said. "Thank God Collins wasn't at karate today.  
"_Yeah, how is the little bugger?_"

"He followed me home from the karate studio yesterday," Elizabeth snorted. "How do you _think_ he is?"

"_Point taken_." Chris laughed on the other end.

"Hey, speaking of," Elizabeth said, her eyes brightening considerably. "How would you like to be my date for Charley Bingley's birthday party tomorrow night? Hugo will probably be there, and I don't want to be defenseless."

"_Sure thing, Liz,_" Chris replied. "_Sounds good to me. I'll meet you at your house at seven fifteen?_"

"Definitely. See you tomorrow then," she said. "Bye."

"_Bye_."

As Elizabeth hung up the phone, Jane sighed and said, "Lizzy, you just had to make things complicated, didn't you?"

**A/N: I know, I know. Christopher Adams and Jacob Matthews are actually nowhere in **_**Pride and Prejudice**_**. But they're based off of my friends from karate, and they've been thrown into the story for fun. Review! :D **


	4. Things Happen When You Slow Dance

A/N: Don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Just to clarify, Lizzy did NOT ask George to be her date at the party, she told him she should come. Chris is her actual date. Please leave a review and enjoy! **

Chapter 4

"I got it!"

Elizabeth opened the front door of the Bennet house to find Chris Adams standing there, wearing a red shirt and baggy denim shorts. "Hey," he smiled, leaning against the doorway. "Ready to go to the party?"

"Definitely," Elizabeth replied, stepping forward to hug her friend. "Just let me go get Janey." She left Chris waiting at the door while she retreated to the bedroom she shared with Jane. "Jane! Come on! Chris is already here!"

"Okay, I'm coming," Jane called, sounding distant. Elizabeth figured that she must be in the bathroom.

Jane emerged, and Elizabeth whistled, "Wow. Charley is going to have a hard time keeping his eyes off of _you_."

At Elizabeth's praise, her sister blushed a furious red color. Jane was wearing denim shorts, which exposed her long legs, and a light blue tube top. Her blonde hair was tied back into a casual ponytail. "Oh, sure," Jane chuckled. "What about Will keeping his eyes off of _you_?"

Lizzy scowled. "Will _doesn't _like me." Nonetheless, she glanced down at herself. She was wearing a denim miniskirt and a hot pink halter top, which exposed her back. She had curled her hair and swept it back in a matching pink headband.

"Whatever you say, Liz," Jane said in a singsong voice. "He likes you."

"Shut up!" Elizabeth snarled, flicking her sister's back. "Come on, Chris is waiting."

Elizabeth, Chris, and Jane walked over to the Bingley house next door together. Almost as soon as they arrived, Charley stole Jane from them.

"Well, that sure was fast," Chris commented.

"I _told_ you," Lizzy said. "He's practically in love with her."

"I see what you mean," he said dryly. Elizabeth began to search the house for George, casting her blue eyes about the room. Noticing this, Chris asked, "You looking for someone, Lizzy?"

"Actually, yeah. I'm looking for George Wickham," she replied, still looking around the living room, having to raise her voice so that Chris could hear her over the din of the music.

"The George that works at Chik-Fil-A?" Chris asked, a strained expression coming over her face.

"Yeah, the very same," Elizabeth said. "Isn't he amazing?"

"No, no, he's not, Lizzy," he said urgently, grabbing her hands and gently yanking her closer to him.

"What is your _problem_, Christopher Joshua Adams?"

"Look, I see him every day at Chik-Fil-A-" he started in a low voice, but Lizzy cut him off.

"I do, too-" she said, but Chris returned the favor and interrupted.

"But you're not there when he comes in for his shift," he told her. "He comes in with a different girl every day, and when I swing by for lunch, he's pushing yet _another_ girl into the bathroom to screw her. He's a _womanizer_, Lizzy. He's just playing around with your feelings, like he does with every other girls." Chris dropped her hands and looked at her seriously. "I don't want you to be another one of his victims."

Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath. "Thanks for telling me, Chris," she said, allowing a small smile to spread over her face. "I'm glad you care enough about me to tell me that."

"No problem," he said, grinning back. "And sorry I kind of freaked out. I just went into alert mode when I heard you say you were looking for Wickham."

"It's okay," she said. "You were just trying to protect me." She gazed about the room again, this time just to look for anyone else she knew, like Charlotte. Suddenly, she gasped and grabbed Chris by the shoulders, fighting to hide behind him. "Oh, God. Hide me, hide me, hide me."

"Dude, who stuck what up your ass?" Chris said, looking down and back at her in amusement.

"Hugo Collins," she hissed dramatically, "is here." She pointed a shaking finger at the far right corner of the room.

"Oh, that little pisser?" Chris laughed. "He's harmless. Unless, of course, he stalks you home." Lizzy poked him viciously in the abdomen. "Ow, _Lizzy_. That hurt."

"Wimp," she told him. "You're supposed to be a black belt, you wuss." Moving him closer to the drink table, she instructed him, "Just hide me."

"Whatever you say, Liz," he laughed. Lizzy slowly backed the both of them up towards the snacks, all while hiding behind him until-

"Oof."

Lizzy shot straight up and turned around to see what poor, unfortunate soul she had knocked to the ground.

Will Darcy.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Will," she said, offering him a hand to help him up. He ignored it and stood up and brushed himself off.

"It's okay, Elizabeth," he muttered. "Though I do want to know why you were hiding behind…" he said, his voice trailing off as he eyed Chris.

"I'm Christopher Adams," he said, shaking Will's hand. "But call me Chris. I'm Lizzy's date for the evening."

"A pleasure, I'm sure," Will said through gritted teeth.

"Down, tiger," Chris laughed, making both Will and Lizzy blush. "I'm really just her bestest friend in the world. She only asked me to be her date so that Hugo Collins would leave her alone. Hugo stalks her."

"Oh, he knows about Hugo," Elizabeth told him. "He was the one who rescued me when Hugo followed me home the other day."

"Right," Will grimaced. "I can see why you wanted to get rid of him."

"At least he hasn't proclaimed his love for you yet, Liz," Chris smirked, which earned him a sharp slap on the arm.

"So you were hiding from Collins?" Will said, glancing over at Hugo in the corner.

"Yep," Lizzy said. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw Collins making his way towards her. "Oh, shit. Here he comes now."

"Maybe I can be of some help," Will said.

"Another rescue?" Lizzy said, raising a single black brow at him and stepping behind Chris simultaneously. "How generous. How can you be of assistance?"

"May I have this dance?" Will said, bowing to her slightly.

"That's what I have Chris for," Elizabeth pointed out.

"But Hugo Collins is afraid of me," he replied, "and getting closer. You see, he works for my aunt."

"Okay, good point," Lizzy said. To Chris, she said, "I'll be right back." She took Will's hand and allowed him to lead her out to the dance floor just as a slow song came on.

He rested a hand on either side of her waist, and he held her a little closer than necessary, but it worked. Upon seeing her in Will's arms, Hugo looked defeated and skulked off to the dessert table, where Chris confronted him, and seemed to exchange some strong words with him. For added effect, Elizabeth rested her head on Will's shoulder.

He stiffened as she did so, but then relaxed. "Just trying to get Hugo to go away," Lizzy explained. "No worries, Will. I'm not getting emotionally attached." Lifting her head and jerking it at Charley and Jane, who were dancing nearby, she added, "Not like those two, anyway."

Will gaped at them, seeing how closely Charley held Jane, and how they softly exchanged words with each other. "Holy crap," he muttered. "He's-"

"In love," Elizabeth said, gushing with happiness for her sister. Will forced himself to smile, the strain showing in his eyes.

After a few moments of silence, he said, "So I see you met George Wickham?"

"Yeah, I did," she muttered in reply, looking up at him curiously. "What's it to you?"

"I'm sure you noticed that he and I have… a bitter history." Will laughed mirthlessly and shook his head. "A rotten tomato could've picked that up."

Lizzy fought the urge to laugh, as she said, "Yeah, I did kind of notice. You'd probably kill me for this, but invited him to this party."

"You did?" Will said, his eyes growing wide as he looked about the room in alarm. "Is he here?"

"No, he went AWOL on me," she said. "And Chris explained to me Wickham's womanizing habits."

"He did?" Will said, letting his eyes close halfway in relief. "Good. Any girl… woman that's going to be near him deserves to know."

"I had no idea, really," Lizzy said. Looking at Will pointedly, she said, "It's just… some guys are hard to judge."

Will didn't know why, but he had the funny feeling she was really talking about him.

TSTSTSTS

Elizabeth opened the front door of the Bennet house to have a blonde blur throw itself- or rather, herself- at her, crying hysterically. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Elizabeth said, embracing Jane as she stumbled back against the door frame. "You know I smell like shit, right?"

"I don't care," Jane sobbed into her shirt.

"Okay, go ahead and hug me," she said. "But just know that I worked out for two hours with Chris and Jake and those boys do _not_ put on deodorant right before they go to karate." Shutting the door behind them, Elizabeth led Jane to the couch and sat her down. "What's wrong, Janey?"

"C-Caroline Bingley left me a voice mail on my cell phone," Jane choked out through her tears.

"And?" Elizabeth said. "I know she's a total bee-yotch, but she can't possibly be _that_ bad."

Jane shook her head as Elizabeth wiped a few tears from her sister's face. "It's what she told me. Charley's gone back to New York for the rest of the summer… to spend time with his _girlfriend_ before the school year starts down here."

"Charley?" Elizabeth gaped. "Girlfriend? Other than you? I don't buy it, Jane. I promise you, Caroline Bingley is bullshitting you."

"What reason would she have to lie to me?" Jane sobbed. "Caroline can't lie to anyone, Lizzy, she's too good of a person."

Lizzy snorted doubtfully, but said nothing. She just gently laid Jane's head on her shoulder and stroked her sister's blonde hair. "It'll be okay, Janey."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "Oh, God," Jane groaned. "I don't want anyone to see me like this."

Lizzy ushered her toward their room. "Just stay in here. I'll take care of whoever is at the door."

Closing the door to their bedroom, Elizabeth opened the front door. "Oh, hey, Lottie," she said.

"Lizzy, I came to tell you the news before anyone else did," Charlotte said excitedly. "I'm going out with Hugo Collins."

Elizabeth's lower jaw dropped as she slammed the door in Charlotte's face. After a few deep breaths, she opened the door again. Charlotte was still there. "Sorry about that," Elizabeth apologized. "But I had to check my ears. I must not have heard you right, because I could swear you said you were dating Hugo Collins."

"No… you heard right," Lottie said.

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you, Lottie?" Lizzy said, gaping at her best friend. "He's a creepy, stalkerish, _annoying_ little pompous jerkward, and I can't even stand to be in the same room as him! He followed me home from karate, Lottie!" Sighing, Lizzy asked, "Do you really like him? Because I'd be willing to accept him, if you really like him."

Charlotte bit her lip. "I… respect him."

"You don't," Elizabeth sighed. "Why then? Is it for the money? 'Cause I heard he's rich."

"Not all of us can afford everything we need, Elizabeth!" Charlotte shrieked. "He's willing to buy me food and occasionally cover for what I really need, and that's more than you can say for most guys his age! Don't judge me, Lizzy!"

Charlotte turned on her heel and stalked off, running through the Bennet's front yard and down the adjacent street, in the direction of her house.

Slamming the front door, Elizabeth stalked into the room she shared with Jane. Seeing Lizzy's face, Jane asked, "What's wrong? Who was it?"

"It was Charlotte, but don't worry about it," Elizabeth said. "It doesn't concern you." She plopped herself down on the bed next to he sister. "You going to be okay, Janey?"

"Hmmm," she nodded noncommittally.

Sighing, Elizabeth draped an arm over her sister's shoulders. "It'll be okay, Janey. It'll be okay."

Whatever she told her sister, Elizabeth was absolutely going to _murder_ Charley Bingley for doing this to her sister.

If it was the last thing she did.


	5. Vacationing with Will Darcy

A/N: Still don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Still don't own, don't sue. My school's being stupid and not letting us out until Friday, so I'll be a little slower with updating until then. But once summer starts, I'll probably be updating every day! Thanks for all the reviews, and please keep it up. Enjoy! **

Chapter 5

"How the hell did I let Lottie talk me into this?"

Elizabeth grumbled murderously to herself as she packed her large yellow suitcase. Somehow, Charlotte had managed to guilt trip Lizzy into accompanying her and Hugo Collins on a trip to Boston, to visit with Hugo's boss, Catherine Bourgh. "Probably because I felt bad for criticizing her for dating Collins in the first place."

Being the procrastinator that she was, Elizabeth had put off packing until the very last moment.

The last _possible_ moment, in fact. Lottie and Hugo would be at the front door in no less than twenty minutes to pick up Lizzy and take her to the airport.

However, no matter how much Lizzy complained about going to New York for two weeks, she was actually quite relieved. Jane had gone to Pennsylvania to visit with their aunt and uncle, Chris was in Florida was two weeks, and Jake had gone to Seattle to visit his grandmother. In other words, she was bored out of her head. Again.

True to their word, Lottie and Hugo showed up at the Bennet house precisely at half past eleven. Elizabeth bade her parents and three younger sisters good-bye before climbing into the waiting SUV. Hugo was at the wheel, looking more pompous than he had the last time Lizzy saw him, which was at Charley's birthday party.

She scowled in anger just thinking about Charley. Looking sullen and angry saved her from conversation until the three of them finally reached the gate where they would be boarding their plane to New York. Seeing a familiar dark-haired boy walking towards them, she nudged Lottie and whispered, "Do I know him?"

"Of course you do, Lizzy," Charlotte said, looking scandalized. "You've been over to his house."

Lizzy looked up again, and this time, the dark-haired boy was close enough for her to recognize him. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the armrest of her seat tightly. "Lottie, why the hell didn't you tell me that Will Darcy was coming with us?"

"I thought I did," Lottie explained, looking sincere. "You did know that Catherine Bourgh is his aunt, right?"

Elizabeth nodded as she flashed back to Charley's party, when Will had indeed mentioned that Hugo worked for his aunt. "So he's coming with us?"

Charlotte nodded. "I'm so sorry, Lizzy. I was so sure I had told you…"

"It's okay, Lottie, I'll live," she said, waving her hand in the air. She was about to open her mouth to add, "Maybe," but Will Darcy took the seat next to her at that very moment.

"Hello, Lizzy," he said, setting his duffel bag down on the floor, and looking surprised (though not unpleased) to see her.

"That's all you packed for two weeks?" she asked, gesturing at the duffel bag. Laughing, she added, "My luggage is about this size." To demonstrate her point, she held her hands about three and a half feet apart.

"I'm only staying for one week," he explained. "And Aunt Catherine has quite a few of my clothes at her house already. I used to visit her quite often when Charley and I still lived in New York." Cocking his head at her curiously, he asked, "How did you get strung along on this trip?"

"Charlotte," Elizabeth replied, jerking her head at her best friend, who was talking in hushed tones with her boyfriend. "She begged and begged until I finally just gave in. She's dating Hugo."

"Really?" Will said, raising his eyebrows and wrinkling his nose. Realizing that his expression could offend Elizabeth, he quickly rearranged his face into one of surprise.

"Don't worry," she chirped upon seeing this. "That was my first reaction, too."

TSTSTSTS

Though Lizzy had begged and begged her, Charlotte refused to sit next to her on the plane, saying that she had told Hugo she would sit with him.

Which left a scowling Lizzy to sit next to a taciturn Will.

Neither of the two made any attempt at conversation during the whole flight. Will made no attempt because he was too busy listening to his iPod to pay any attention to anyone else (though he did sneak glances at Lizzy whenever she wasn't looking). Lizzy, for her part, didn't try to strike up a conversation because, at first, she was too pissed off at Charlotte to say anything that wouldn't get her thrown off the plane. Then it was because she was sleeping like a bear during winter.

When Will wasn't staring at Lizzy, he was staring out the window and _thinking_ about Lizzy. He had been zoned out for a good forty-five minutes before something touching his shoulder nearly made him jump out of his seat. He figured it was merely a flight attendant who was asking him what he wanted to drink, but when he turned to look, Lizzy's head _was on his shoulder_.

Flushing a deep red color, he vaguely wondered if he should wake her up or leave her be.

He was about to speak her name when the corners of her lips kicked up in a small smile. Seeing how peaceful she looked (and thinking of how good her head felt on his shoulder), he decided to leave her be. After all, let sleeping dogs lie, right?

Though Will wasn't sure that was exactly the best way to apply the adage.

About half an hour before they landed, however, Will had to pee like a horse, and there was no way he was going to let himself do that in his seat. As gently as possible, Will disengaged his shoulder from its job as Lizzy's pillow. When he realized that he had successfully done so without waking her up, he had to bite his lip to stifle the victory cry that was threatening to burst forth from his lips. Then he scurried off to the bathroom.

When he returned to his seat, Lizzy was awake and in a _much_ better mood than she had been before she fell asleep. "Where were _you_?" she asked. "I woke up and you were just _gone_. I thought maybe you got sucked out the window, but then I realized the breeze would've woken me up, if that was the case."

"Bathroom," he replied, jerking his head in the direction of the restroom before making his way past her to his window seat. After a few more moment of silence, he finally asked, "Are you looking forward to this vacation?

_I was until I found out you were going_, she wanted to say, but she knew better than to be a complete bitch for no reason. "In a way," she replied slowly, carefully. "I'm looking forward to having _something_ to do, rather than sitting at home reading. I mean, I'm content with that, but I have no one to share it with."

"What about Jane?" Will suggested.

"She went to Pennsylvania to visit our aunt and uncle soon after Charley went to New York," she replied sharply, hoping that from her pointed glare Will would understand what kind of pain Charley had caused her sister. It was, however, all in vain. He was either completely oblivious or good at hiding what he was thinking. Sighing, she continued, "Chris is in Florida and Jake is in Seattle."

"Jake?" Will asked. He remembered Chris as her date for Charley's party (he _had_ wanted to strangle the boy until Chris informed him that he was only Lizzy's date because she wanted to get rid of Collins) but he didn't ever remember her mentioning a Jake.

"Jake is my other friend from karate," she explained. "Chris, Jake, and I are all good friends. Charlotte is… _was_ my best friend, but I've been closer to Chris and Jake, Chris in particular, ever since… for a while." She had almost launched into her whole explanation of _why_ Chris and Jake were now her best friends, rather than Charlotte, but then she realized who she was talking to. Why would he give a flying shit about her personal life?

However, Will scowled when she didn't finish, but said nothing. "I see," was all he said. Then he added, "How long have you been doing karate?"

"Since I was eleven," she said. "So about five years."

He nodded. "What belt are you?"

"First degree black," she replied proudly. "I'm working on my second degree. Chris just got his second degree, and Jake is going for his first degree next month, actually."

Will nodded, listening to her intently. He wanted to know everything about Lizzy Bennet. But he wasn't so sure if he wanted Lizzy Bennet to know everything about _him_. Just yet, anyway.

TSTSTS

Almost as soon as they arrived at Rosings, which was, apparently, the name of Catherine Bourgh's estate, Charlotte barged into Elizabeth's room, telling her to get dressed quickly, for "the great Catherine Bourgh" had already invited them to dinner.

She hadn't even met her yet, and Elizabeth already disliked Catherine Bourgh.

Of course, this initial dislike only intensified when Lizzy actually met the ghastly woman. The old woman looked upon everyone else with a disdain one could only describe as hateful. Not even fifteen minutes after she had arrived, Catherine Bourgh had already criticized Lizzy on her wardrobe, education, piano skills (or lack thereof), and etiquette. She was about to receive another lecture (this time on her apparently shabby application of make up) when she was saved by a black haired boy barging through the front door and saying, "Sorry I'm late, Aunt Catherine. My flight was delayed."

The boy turned out to be Richard Fitzwilliam, frequently called Fitz, and Will's cousin on his mother's side. Though they were related, Fitz was the polar opposite of Will. He friendly, relaxed, and probably the life of the party wherever he went. "So this is the Lizzy I've heard so much about," Fitz said when he shook Lizzy's hand.

"Thanks for saving me," Lizzy muttered. "Your aunt was going to lecture me on my make up."

"Oh, no problem," Fitz laughed. "You know, I arranged the whole thing this way."

"Of course you did," Lizzy grinned. Cocking her head at him, she said, "You're just full of jokes, aren't ya?"

He laughed and said, "Indeed I am. Just be glad you don't live with me. April Fools' Day is like hell for those who do."

At this, Elizabeth let out a long, loud laugh. Will managed a grin, though watching how well Lizzy got along with his cousin made him jealous. Upon hearing Lizzy laugh, Catherine's head snapped up on the opposite end of the dinner table. "Richard, Fitzwilliam, Miss Bennet. What are you all talking about? I demand to know what is so funny."

"Oh, we were just discussing the wildly fluctuating stocks," Will said, with such a straight face that it was all Lizzy could do _not_ to burst into hysterical laughter once more.

"That was the funniest thing I've ever heard you say, Darcy," she told him, slapping him on the back. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Will's more of the dry, tongue-in-cheek kind of humor," Fitz explained, as Will was too busy blushing into his soup to do so himself. "You have to be around him a lot to pick up on it though."

"I have been around him quite a lot, considering that I've only known him for about three to four weeks," Lizzy said. "First, I met him at Charlotte's house for a welcome to the neighborhood party for him and Charley. Second, I was at his house when my sister fell ill while visiting. Then he saved my ass from Hugo Collins back when he was stalking me." At this, Fitz snorted, muttering something about Collins being the type. "Finally, I saw him at Charley's birthday party just last week."

"How is good ol' Charley?" Fitz asked.

"He's fine," Will replied, the blush gone and his voice strained. "He's just fine."

At this, the three of them fell silent for a few moments. Then-

"Why does your Aunt Catherine's hair look like frizzed up bird shit?'

The hysterical laughter broke forth once more. At least, on Fitz and Lizzy's parts. Will, for his part, managed a broad grin and a chuckle, which was more than Lizzy ever expected from him.

In fact, before she left Rosings, she would see _way_ more of Will Darcy than she _ever_ expected to see. Whether or not she would like it was less certain.


	6. Rejection Bites

A/N: Seriously, don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Seriously, don't own, don't sue. Please keep up reviewing. Enjoy! **

Chapter 6

"_Liz! Hey!" _

Elizabeth beamed as she heard the voice on the other end of the phone line. "Chris! Good to hear from you. How's Florida?"

"_It's great_," he said. "_I can't wait to be back though. How is it back home?_"

"I wouldn't know. I'm not there."

"_Where are you then?" _

"I'm in New York."

"_Why the hell are you in New York?_"

"Lottie convinced me to go with her and Hugo with New York," she explained. "We're visiting Hugo's employer, Catherine Bourgh."

"_Sounds boring_."

"She's also Will Darcy's aunt," Elizabeth added.

"_I take it back, it sounds juicy_," he said, laughing on the other end of the line.

"And Will Darcy himself is with us."

"_No way. Dude, how __**do**__you get yourself into situations like this_?"

"Dude, I have no idea." Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door. "I've got to Chris, someone is at the door. I'll call you back later tonight, okay?"

"_Sure thing, Elizabeth. See you_."

Closing her phone, Elizabeth made her way to the door and opened it, surprised to find Will Darcy standing there. "Hi," she said, after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Hello," he said, looking down at his shoes and shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Seeing nothing better to do, Elizabeth stood back, allowing Darcy to step into the room. "I heard Charlotte and Collins were out," he said, as if attempting to explain his presence.

"They are," she replied. "They went shopping, I believe. Lottie asked me to go with her, but I weaseled out. I hate shopping." She wrinkled her nose, as if to prove her point.

Will said nothing, but merely nodded his head. "Were you talking to someone?" he said, attempting to strike up conversation once more.

"Yeah, Chris called from Florida," she said, glancing at her cell phone, which was still lying on her bed. "He wanted to know how things were back home, but, of course, I couldn't tell him."

Again, he nodded. Elizabeth began to wonder if he had a vocabulary larger than that of a five year old. "The accommodations are nice," she commented, trying to break the awkward silence that fell upon them again.

"Yeah, I think Collins helped my aunt with renovations," he said, looking around the room. "It's very… homey."

"It is," she agreed. "I rather like it."

The door to the wing of Rosings that Lizzy was sharing with Charlotte and Hugo slammed shut. "Lizzy, we're back!"

"Well, I'll see you around," Will said swiftly, and left without another word, brushing past Charlotte in the doorway of Lizzy's room.

"Lizzy," Charlotte said in a scolding tone. "What have you done to Will Darcy?"

"Don't look at me," she said defensively. "I have no freaking clue."

"Lizzy," Lottie said seriously, closing the door behind her and sitting next to her friend on the bed. "I think he's in love with you."

"Bullshit, Lottie," Elizabeth replied icily. "You wouldn't know love if it bit you in the ass. You're dating Collins."

Lottie stood and brushed herself off, leaving the room with a hurt expression on her face. Despite what she said, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel that Charlotte could be right.

TSTSTSTSTS

"Hey, Fitz."

Elizabeth found Fitz sitting at the computer in the library, typing away furiously. "Oh, hey, Elizabeth," he said, looking up at her and smiling broadly. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, just fine," she said. Then she frowned. "But I just heard from my sister, and she didn't sound so good. You?"

"I'm fine," he said, an expression of concern spreading over his face. "But what's wrong with your sister?"

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about," she told him lightly, taking a seat next to his. "Just guy problems. She really just needed someone to listen her."

"Which I'm sure you did," he said, and she nodded. Smiling sideways at her, he said, "You seem like a good friend to have, Lizzy. I think I'll keep you around."

She smiled broadly. "Thanks."

"Believe it or not, Will is an unbelievably good friend to have," Fitz told her. At her doubtful snort, the black-haired boy added, "No, really. His trust is ridiculously hard to gain, but once he's your friend, he'll do anything in the world for you. Actually, he was telling me last night about how he recently saved his best friend from what would have been a poor relationship."

At this, Elizabeth sat up straight in her chair, curiosity alight in her eyes. "Really? Oh, do tell."

Fitz glanced around the room suspiciously. "This room is clear, right? Will would probably skin me alive and feed what's left of me to piranha if he knew I told you."

Snorting, Elizabeth assured him, "The room is clear and my lips are sealed."

"It was his best friend Charley Bingley," Fitz elaborated. "He was going to ask out some girl that lives next door to them now. Apparently, there were some problems with her family. Will worked with Charley's sister, Caroline, to persuade him to leave."

Upon hearing these words, Elizabeth's gaze turned ice cold.

Will Darcy was going to get it.

TSTSTSTSTS

"_Has he lost his mind?/Can he see or is he blind?_"

Elizabeth was oblivious to the world as she made her way back to her room, sweaty after working on her forms for karate for nearly two and half hours. Charlotte had dragged Hugo off to shop yet _again_, so she had taken the opportunity to work on her karate. Just because she was on vacation didn't mean she could let herself go.

So there she was, walking down the hallway of the West Wing of Rosings, in nothing but a pair of blue shorts and white cami, her hair tied back into a ponytail. There was a sheen of perspiration all over her body, and beads of sweat dotted her forehead.

She was minding her own business, singing along to Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," in the supposedly empty hallways.

Or, at least, she thought they were empty.

Until Will Darcy crashed into her and pinned her up against the wall. He bent his head towards hers, and all that stood between his lips and hers was a mere whisper of air.

He was about to close the gap between them, before she rested her hands against his chest and pushed him away furiously. "What the hell is wrong with you, Darcy?"

"I-I…" he stammered, standing back and running a hand through his dark hair anxiously. "Elizabeth, please, I love you."

Leaning against the wall, she slumped to the floor in shock. "You _what_?"

"I love you," he repeated, looking down at her. Leaning against the opposite wall, he slumped down, so that he was at eye level with her.

"Was it that supposed to be, my cue to jump into your arms or something?" she snorted. "You are the _last _guy on earth I'd date; you're a total asshole, Darcy."

Upon hearing this, Will's face turned bright red in anger. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Jane and Charley, you dickhead!" she hissed. "You split them up! How could you? How_ could_ you ruin the future happiness of your so-called best friend?"

"Excuse me, I _saved_ his happiness!" Will retorted angrily. "How could he have been happy with a girlfriend that didn't love him back?"

"What have you been _smoking_, Darcy?" she said icily. "She was in damn love with him!"

"She wanted him for his goddamn money!" Will roared.

"No, she damn well didn't!" Elizabeth said, rage flaring in her blue eyes. "Our bitchy _mother_ may have given you that impression, and our younger sisters, too, but how dare you suggest that Jane- _Jane_- want someone merely for their wealth! She is the sweetest, most innocent and honest girl Charley will probably ever meet, and then you came along. You and that _bitch_ Caroline convinced him that she didn't love him, and made him leave." Glaring at him again, she added, "You can't even admit you screwed up. Just like with George Wickham."

"What are you talking about?" he asked sharply. She stood and he glared up at her. "You know that's he a freaking womanizer; why do you give a flying shit about him?"

"So he's a womanizer, that's no reason to withhold his inheritance from him!" she exclaimed. "I mean, really, Darcy. That's cruel and inhumane."

"You don't know the damn half of it," he told her.

"There is nothing you could say, Darcy, nothing you could ever say that would convince me that you have a heart and are, in fact, a decent human being," she spat at him. "_Nothing_."

Looking wounded, he looked up at her and said, "So this is what you really think of me."

She nodded defiantly, her chin jutting out in anger. "Thanks for explaining," he said meekly, standing and brushing past her. "I won't waste anymore of your time."

With that he was gone, leaving a confused Elizabeth in his wake.

The next morning, she found a white envelope just by her door, with her name written in neat script on the cover of it. Opening it, she found it was a letter from Will.

_Dear Elizabeth, _

_I know that I have done nothing to deserve any more of your time than I have already taken up, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would read this letter. I won't repeat the sentiments that annoyed you so greatly; I fear your wrath too greatly to extend them again. However, I would like to explain, for my part, the two greatest charges you laid against me. That of Jane and Charley and that of George Wickham. _

_As for Jane and Charley, I apologize for making judgments of your sister's affections for Charley before I knew her well enough to do so accurately. In my defense, I wholeheartedly believed that Jane felt no deep affection for Charley. Caroline discussed the matter with me immediately after Charley's birthday party, and we decided that it would be best for Charley if he left now. We told him our opinions, which, considering his submissive spirit, influenced him greatly. _

_In retrospect, I realize that it was probably not the best decision in the world to place my trust in Caroline. Being the, pardon my French, bitch that she is, she most likely realized how much Jane truly liked Charley, but told me otherwise, knowing that her brother was more likely to listen to me, rather than just her. Again, I apologize, and I admit, I've messed up. _

_As for George Wickham, I feel you should know the whole story. George and I grew up together, and, like he said, our fathers were very close. Despite all this, George and I were never quite that close. However, he did become good friends with my younger sister, Georgiana. George's father died before ours, and he left my father in charge of George. About two years ago, my father died, and left our family's estate and fortune to Georgiana and me. However, he did leave a sizeable sum for George. I gave him the money, and he managed to spend it all on frivolous things within a few months. When he asked for more, I refused and he ran away. By this time, I was living with the Bingleys, who generously took me in after my father died. Georgiana began living at her boarding school full time, spending the summers with me at the Bingleys. About a year after my father died, Wickham returned during the summer while I was on vacation with Charley and his family. However, Georgiana was still around, having decided to spend the time I was gone at her friend's house. He ran into her in the city, and, by the time I returned, had convinced her to run away with him. He professed his love for her, and, remembering the friendship they shared when they were younger, she believed him. I walked in on them in a disgraceful state of undress and, needless to say, I reacted rather violently. Georgiana, since then, has realized her mistake and is ashamed of it. However, neither of us will ever forget the trouble Wickham caused us. _

_Again, I beg your forgiveness in regards to Jane and Charley's relationship, however, I cannot apologize for my behavior regarding Wickham. I do hope that you will find it in your heart to look at me in a better light. Though even if you don't, I do not feel that I could blame you. I'm sorry. _

_Just to clarify, Elizabeth Katherine Bennet, I love with reckless abandon that scares the damn shit out of me. I've never felt this way about anyone, and I have no idea what do with myself when you __**are**__ around, and I feel empty inside whenever you__** aren't**__. _

_With that said, I bid you farewell. _

_ Love, _

_ Fitzwilliam Andrew Darcy _

Elizabeth read the letter four times in rapid succession, refusing to believe what he had written. However, by the time she finished reading it the fourth time, she realized that both his explanations made sense. She was still pissed off beyond belief at him about Charley and Jane, but she did feel rather bad about the whole Wickham thing.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Standing, she smoothed her shirt and opened the door to find Fitz standing before her. "Okay, Lizzy, you're probably going to murder me for saying this," he said.

"Go on, I'm intrigued now," she said, folding her arms against her chest.

"I think you and Will belong together."


	7. Of Interfering Cousins and Friends

A/N: Still own nothing

**A/N: Still own nothing. Thanks for the continued reviews and please keep it up! Enjoy. **

Chapter 7

"So… do you usually buy people coffee before you kill them?"

Fitz stared questioningly at Lizzy over his frappuccino, as though scared that she was going to pounce over the table at him at any minute.

Chuckling, she replied, "No, I don't. I'm not planning to kill you, Fitz. I'm actually fascinated."

"By what?" he said, eyeing her curiously as she took a sip of her own frappuccino.

"By your reasoning behind the statement that Will and I should be together," she told him, glaring at him across the table. "Explain away, Fitz. Start talking."

"Well, first off, he's in love with you," he said, running a hand anxiously through his black hair. "Isn't that reason enough?"

"Of course not," she snorted. "If I jumped into the arms of every guy who claimed to be in love with me, I'd be dating Hugo Collins instead of Charlotte."

Wrinkling his nose, Fitz said, "Point taken. But Hugo obviously wasn't truly in love with you, or he wouldn't be dating Charlotte. Apparently, he was just looking for someone to date. But Will is genuinely in love with you. You should've _heard_ how he talked about you when I called him a few days before we arrived here. When you introduced yourself as Elizabeth Bennet, I was expecting to spot a halo floating above your head in the darkness." Upon hearing this, Lizzy felt her cheeks flush deep read. "I'm being serious, though. He's seen other girls and been slightly attracted to them before, but never like this. He wouldn't shut up about you, and I noticed almost as soon as I walked into Rosings that he couldn't keep his eyes off of you."

"Does he really love me?" she said, still sounding skeptical as she took another sip from her straw.

"Honestly?" Fitz said, raising an eyebrow at her, wondering whether or not she wanted the cold, hard truth. She nodded, so he replied, "He thinks the sun shines out of your ass."

Snorting at Fitz's imagery, Lizzy said, "Okay, you must have some other reasons. Please… continue."

"You're one of the few people in the world who won't put up with his bullshitting," Fitz elaborated, "which was made apparent when he told me how you screamed at him before rejecting him brutally yesterday. Most people just give him whatever he wants because he's domineering and rich, but you didn't. And I applaud you for that." At this, Fitz made a big show of clapping loudly for her, which made a few people in the crowded Starbucks turn and look at the pair of them curiously.

"Fitz, stop embarrassing me," she muttered. "And keep talking. I'm still not satisfied with your explanation."

"But back to the point. What Will really needs is someone who won't take his shit. Instead of giving in, you tell him what the hell he's done wrong, which is more than anyone else has ever done. His sister admires him too much, I don't like confrontations, and our aunt is way too wrapped up in her own world to bother. You would be _perfect_ for him, I have no doubt about it."

At this, Elizabeth snorted. However, she merely let her index finger trace the rim of her cup and said, "Keep it up, Fitz. It's getting better and better as you go."

Sighing, Fitz continued, "You're really going to kill me for what I'm about to say." Seeing her skeptical look, he added, "No, really- you are. You're going to cut my head off, bury my remains, then dig me up, and feed me to rabid rabbits."

Grimacing, she said, "That was a little more graphic that I expected. Just freaking tell me what you have to say. Maybe I'll surprise you and let you live. But if you don't tell me, I'm _definitely_ going to strangle you."

Snorting, he said, "I think you have feelings for Will."

Elizabeth, who had just taken a sip of her frappuccino, spit it out, and it hit Fitz straight in the face. "What in damn hell, Fitz?" she hissed. "What the hell are you _talking_ about?"

"Ew, was that really necessary?" he said, wiping frappuccino off of his face with a brown napkin.

"Yes," she said, glaring at him angrily over the table once more. "Fitz, you better explain yourself. I have _feelings_ for him? Of hatred, sure."

"I think, deep down, you really do love him," he said slowly, refusing to look her in the eye. Instead, he stared at his thumbs as he twiddled them nervously. "I've… observed your behavior around him, and I think that, while you say you hate who you believe him to be, which may be true, you really love who he actually is."

"That is," she said, looking at him seriously, "the biggest load of bullshit I've heard in my life."

"Shut up, Elizabeth, you know it's true. If it weren't, you wouldn't feel guilty about yelling at him about Wickham, like I know you are," Fitz sniped. She merely snorted. Sighing and leaning back in his seat, he said, "Are you going to kill me now?"

"No, no… I think I'll let you live," she said, a dangerous smile spreading across her face. "Just this once, anyway."

"Right," he said, looking at her skeptically.

"Where is Will?" she sighed after a few moments of silence. "I need to apologize about the whole Wickham thing. I _do_ feel kind of bad about it." Glaring at him, she added, "But not because I have feelings for him. Any _normal human being_ would feel guilty about it."

Fitz smirked at her triumphantly, but said, "Sorry, Lizzy. He's gone."

"Gone?" she repeated stupidly, her eyes wide. "Gone where?"

"To Buffalo to visit Georgiana," Fitz replied. "He's staying there the rest of summer, to spend time with her before the school year starts."

"Well, good riddance to bad rubbish," Lizzy muttered, looking down at her lap.

But whatever she said, she couldn't help but feel sad upon hearing that he was gone.

TSTSTSTSTSTS

"How are you enjoying the flight, ma'am?"

About three weeks later, Lizzy was back on a plane to New York City. Again. About a week after her discussion with Fitz in Starbucks, Lizzy had flown back home, where she remained for two weeks. She was planning to stay home for the rest of the summer, however, Chris invited her and Jake along to New York for two weeks.

"It's just fine, thanks," she smiled up at the flight attendant. Turning to Chris, she said, "I can't believe this is the second time I'm going to New York this summer. Before last month, I'd never even been there before."

"Well, you just have good friends," Chris shrugged, a grin spreading across his face. "Thanks for coming along. I'd thank Jake too, if he wasn't snoring as loud as a chainsaw right now."

Lizzy sniggered, glancing across Chris at Jake, who was sleeping soundly, his head thrown back and his mouth wide open. "He's got his mouth open wide enough to swallow a camel," she commented dryly. Chris laughed appreciatively, and Lizzy asked, "So… what part of New York are we going to again?"

"Queens," Chris replied, popping a few peanuts into his mouth from the bag the flight attendant had given him. "It's where Shea Stadium is."

"Ah, sweet," she said. "The New York Mets. Nice."

"Yeah, I'm going to see if I can get tickets for the three of us to see a game," he told her.

"That's be awesome, Chris!" she said, punching him playfully on the arm. "I haven't been to a baseball game in _ages_ and I miss it terribly."

"I know," Chris said emphatically. "That's why I'm going to try to get us tickets."

Smiling, Lizzy rested her head on his shoulder in a friendly manner. "And this is why you're my best friend."

"What about Charlotte?" he asked, sounding alarmed.

Lifting her head from his shoulder, she shrugged, saying, "She's been distant ever since she started dating Collins. She's just… not the same Charlotte I knew." Chris raised his eyebrows but said nothing. "So. Tell me about our hotel."

"It's a Sheraton, and it's right next to this really huge mansion called Pemberley, which is where Will Darcy lives-" he said.

"Whoa, wait," she cut him off. "What? Will Darcy?"

"Yeah, he lives there," Chris said. Looking at her suspiciously, he said, "There's something you're not telling me, Lizzy."

It wasn't a question.

Sighing, Lizzy said, "While I was at Rosings in New York with Charlotte and Hugo three weeks ago, Will asked me out."

"What?" Chris gaped, his lower jaw dropping a good few inches. "Are you shitting me?"

"_No_, I swear I'm not," she told him honestly. "He told me that… he told me that he loved me."

"Seriously?" he said, a thoughtful expression coming over his face. "Do you believe him?"

"Well, I didn't… at first," she told him. "But then his cousin talked to me… and he gave me this letter… and now I think he was telling the truth. But it's more complicated than that."

"I don't know, Lizzy," Chris said honestly. "I think the two of you would be good together."

"Aw, not you too!" she cried, slapping herself on the forehead with the palm of her hand.

"Listen to me, Liz," he told her seriously. "I know you better than anyone else, except for Jane, right?" At this, she nodded. How could she deny the truth? "And from what I've seen of him, I honestly believe that the two of you would be perfect for each other. Everyone else can see it."

"What do you mean?" she demanded sharply.

"Charlotte might've mentioned it to me… and Jane," he murmured, "… and random people I've never met before. If everyone else can see it, why can't _you_?"

"Okay, I'll _think_ about it," she said, just to pacify him. "But can you promise me we won't go to Pemberley? It'll be really awkward."

"We _have_ to go to Pemberley, Liz, it's _amazing_," Chris told her. "But don't worry. Will Darcy won't be there anyway. I heard he's visiting his sister in Buffalo."

"Oh, right, he is," Elizabeth said, heaving a giant sigh of relief. "I guess we can go then."

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Elizabeth said, "Hey, Chris?"

"Hmmm?" he said, looking sideways at her.

"Thanks again for taking me to New York with you," she replied. "I'm not sure I could've survived the rest of the summer back at home, especially with Janey as down as she is."

"No problem," he said brightly. "But you still haven't told me why she's been so depressed lately."

"Sorry, I've been sworn to secrecy," Lizzy shrugged, offering him a small smile. "Can't tell you, not without breaking the sister code, anyway."

Sighing dramatically, Chris said, "I suppose I'll survive the suspense of not knowing… thanks for leaving me out of the loop."

"No problem," she laughed. "It was my pleasure."

He flashed her a crooked grin, appreciating her joke. Just then, Jake's voice floated over the din of the engine to their ears: "Huh? What's going on?"

"Welcome back to the world, Jake," Lizzy grinned, leaning forward so she could look at her black haired friend across Chris. "You were snoring pretty loudly over there. The engines had to compete with you."

Jake scowled at her comment, but only said, "What'd I miss?"

"Oh, only everything," Chris said nonchalantly. "Lizzy confessed that Will Darcy professed his love for her while she was in New York last month."

"What?" Jake gaped. Turning on Lizzy, he demanded, "And_ why_ didn't you tell me this?"

"Slipped my mind?" she suggested with a shrug. "Sorry."

Still glaring at her, Jake said, "So give me all the dirty details."

"There were _no _dirty details," Lizzy said emphatically. "He just… pinned me up against the wall and confessed his love for me." Jake and Chris looked at her knowingly. Glaring at the pair of them, she added, "Then I pushed him away and yelled at him for being a jackass."

"And what exactly did he do to deserve such a title?" Jake questioned.

"Long story, and I've been sworn to secrecy," she shrugged.  
"Aha, so it has to do with Jane, does it?" Chris said triumphantly. "I'm on to you, kid."

Groaning, Elizabeth shrank in her seat and said, "Could you two shut up? I wanna enjoy this vacation."

"Aw, you know you love us, Lizzy!" Jake said, as Chris wrapped an arm around her playfully.

Elizabeth snorted doubtfully, but no matter what she said or did, she didn't know what she'd do without them.


	8. Surprises at Pemberley

A/N: Still own nothing… -sigh-

**A/N: Still own nothing… -sigh-. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and please keep it up, 'cause I love it! Enjoy! **

Chapter 8

"Smile!"

Chris and Lizzy smiled with their arms around each other, posing in front of the entrance to Pemberley. Looking at the viewfinder and smiling himself, Jake commented, "That's a good shot."

"May I _please_ take that camera away from him, Chris?" Lizzy begged, flashing Chris puppy dog eyes.

"No, you may not," Chris told her firmly. "I know you hate being in pictures, but I guarantee you, after this vacation is over, you're going to want pictures of it, and Jake is the only one out of the three of us capable of taking decent pictures. In short, if I let you take it away from him, when we get back home, you'd kill _me_ because you didn't have any pictures."

Folding her arms against her chest, Lizzy pouted, "Fine. Be a meany then."

Chris merely shook his head, climbing the steps to Pemberley at a rapid pace, Lizzy right on his heels.

"Wait!" Jake protested, lagging behind them. He was just stepping onto the first step. "Why must you go so damn fast?"

"Come on, Jake," Lizzy laughed, "you have to keep in shape while we're here. What will Ms. Andrews say when we get back and go to karate and you've become a fatty?"

"Thanks," Jake said, looking disgruntled. "I wanna take _one_ set of stairs slow and you jump to conclusions and call me a fatty. Love you too, Liz."

"I know," she chirped. Frowning slightly, she turned to face the huge front doors of Pemberley. Looking sideways at Chris, she asked, "Are you absolutely _sure_ he's not going to be here?"

"Positive," Chris nodded his head. "He's visiting his sister in Buffalo, like I told you."

"You better be right," she glared at him, but feeling greatly relieved at his reassurances. The last thing she wanted to do was run into Will Darcy at his actual _house_ after she yelled at him like she did at Rosings.

Talk about awkward.

Jake finally joined them, panting after having run up the remainder of the steps. "Whoa, this place is _huge_," he said, giving the word 'huge' two syllables instead of only one.

"I agree," Lizzy said, nodding her head. "If I lived here, I'd feel like I needed to leave a trail of bread crumbs wherever I went, just to find my way back out."

Chris gave her a knowing glance, a teasing smirk playing at his lips. "Yeah, 'cause all three of us know you _are_ going to live here one day."

Her bottom jaw dropped as she gaped at Chris in disbelief. Seeing this, Chris scampered toward the huge front doors along with Jake. After she didn't follow them right away, Chris stuck his head back out the doorway. "Coming, Liz? Or are you just going to stand there and stare at your future house all day?"

Elizabeth snapped her mouth closed before screeching, "I'm going to skin you alive, Christopher Joshua Adams!" With that, she took off into the house after him.

Upon arriving in the entrance hall, she couldn't help but skid to a screeching halt next to Jake and Chris and stare upwards at the ceiling. A huge fresco had been painted on the ceiling, making it a very stunning sight.

"Who would've thought it?" Jake commented. "The Sistene Chapel in New York City."

"This place is _wicked_," Chris said through his grin. "Liz, when you _do_ live here, you _have _to invite Jake and me over. Or me, at least. Jake would probably just embarrass you."

"Hey!" Jake cried indignantly. "I do nothing of the sort!"

"_Yes_, you do," Lizzy told him. "But if Chris keeps up his snide remarks, I'm going to file a restraining order."

"Aw, Liz, you wouldn't do that to your best friend," Chris pouted, fighting hard not to laugh at how riled up she was getting. "Okay, I'll stop. I promise. I'll be good for the rest of the day."

Smiling sideways at him, Lizzy said, "I expected nothing more and nothing less, Chris."

Suddenly, a voice echoed from somewhere around the giant staircase that ended in the entrance hall. "Elizabeth Bennet?"

Jake, Chris, and Lizzy all instinctively glanced upwards at the stairs, and spotted _Will Darcy_ standing at the top. Jake and Chris watched in amusement as Lizzy's face went from its normal tan complexion to as red as a beet in the amount of time it took to blink. "Hello, Will," she said, wringing her hands nervously. "Fancy running in to you here." Glaring at Chris, she muttered to him through gritted teeth, "_You said he wasn't going to be here. You said he was visiting his sister in Buffalo. What now, dumbass?_"

"Relax, Lizzy," said Chris. "I had _no_ idea he was going to be here, I promise you."

Will was quickly making his way down the staircase toward them, hardly able to contain his excitement upon seeing Lizzy again. He finally reached the bottom and made his way over to the three of them in as dignified a manner as possible. "Lizzy, it's so nice to see you again," he said, smiling broadly at her.

"Same here," she said, grinning back, but only out of anxiety.

She expected him to ignore Chris and Jake until she said something, but before she could open her mouth to introduce them, he said brightly, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Chris. And… I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before. Will Darcy, at your service."

"I'm Jacob Matthews, but call me Jake," Jake said, introducing himself and sneaking an impressed glance in Lizzy's direction.

"Oh, so _you're_ Jake," Will said, still smiling at the two of them. "Lizzy tells me that the two of you are her best friends."

Once again, she felt her cheeks flame bright red. Did he remember _everything_ she ever told him? Even _she_ didn't remember telling him that Jake and Chris were her best friends until he brought it up. "So," Will said conversationally, another shocker. "What brings you to New York? What is this, Lizzy, the second time this summer?"

"I was planning to come here the whole time," Chris replied, answering for her, "but I was planning to come with my parents. Three days before we left, however, they decided they wanted two weeks to themselves, without me to bother them I guess, and told me I could take two friends along. Who else _would_ I take besides Lizzy? And Jake, of course." Chris laughed sideways at Jake, who was now scowling.

"Thanks, Chris," he said dryly. "I can really feel the love."

"Aw, don't worry, Jakey," Lizzy joked, feeling a bit more comfortable now than she ahd a few moments ago. "You know we love you."

"Speak for yourself," Chris muttered.

Will merely watched the three of them, amused at their antics. Turning to him, Lizzy said apologetically, "I'm so sorry about all of this. Chris insisted that you were in Buffalo visiting your sister."

"Oh, I was," Will explained. "But I decided to spend a couple weeks here… just to be back here."

"If I had known you'd actually be here… in your _home_ of all places, silly me… I wouldn't have come," she said, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, don't be sorry!" he said, offering her a friendly grin. "I'm really glad to see you here. Is there anything I can do for you? Where are you staying?"

"We're staying at the Sheraton that's pretty much right next door," Chris supplied, earning him a glare from Lizzy.

"Oh, that's great!" Will said, genuine excitement spreading across his handsome features. "Why don't you let me show you around New York?"

"Oh, really, we _couldn't_," Lizzy stammered, feeling the awkward level rise to a record-breaking point yet again. "We couldn't intrude."

"No, really!" Will said, looking alarmed. He let Elizabeth Katherine Bennet slip through his fingers once, and he had regretted it every moment since. He wasn't going to let it happen yet again, not when she was so _close_. He had expected to see her again, when he returned to the Bingley house for the start of the school year. But he had never expected _this_. To see her in his own house was a huge stroke of luck that he could've never hoped for, and he wasn't about to waste what may be his one and only chance. "I don't mind at all. Gee, my sister, has been asking to meet you, Lizzy, for quite some time."

"Really?" she asked incredulously, feeling her cheeks flame again. Glancing at Chris and Jake, who were both fighting to stifle their laughter, she said, "Well… that's fine with me if it's okay with the two of you. Is it?"

"Sure," Jake replied good-naturedly. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"Definitely," Chris agreed. A strange look coming over his face, he added, "Er… Will? Could you please direct me to the nearest restroom?"

"Yeah, me too," Jake added. "You know, nature calls."

Lizzy wanted nothing more than to slap Jake, sure that Will would be appalled by his complete lack of decorum. However, Will only chuckled and said, "Chris, there's one down this hall to the left. Jake, there's behind the first door you see once you reach the top of the stairs."

Both boys muttered their thanks and scampered off in the direction of said bathrooms. Slapping herself on the forehead, Lizzy muttered, "What am I going to do with them?"

"Your friends are hysterical," Will chuckled, glancing at her. "I didn't see that in Chris at the party."

"Actually, he acted _exactly_ the same way at the party as he's acting now," Lizzy said. "Sad, isn't it?"

"I guess I just didn't notice then," he said. _I must've been too wrapped up in myself_.

But he didn't say that part out loud.

Clearing his throat, Will asked, "How are you, Lizzy?"

"I'm good, I'm good," she said, "just a little weirded out."

"And may I ask why?"

Eyeing him suspiciously, she said, "Look, Darcy. I'm going to be blunt, okay? You're being unbelievably nice, civil, and accommodating to Chris, Jake, and me, and I just never expected this. In fact, if anything, you should hate me for treating you the way I did back at Rosings. And frankly, I'm surprised my words affected you this much." After a few moments of awkward silence, she exhaled loudly and said, "Please something. I hate awkward silences. Silences I can handle, but not awkward ones. It just really-"

"Lizzy?" Will broke in. She glanced at him curiously, and he said, "You're babbling."

They grinned at each other, and Lizzy explained, "Just trying to break the awkward silence."

"How's your family doing? How's Jane doing?" he asked.

Lizzy grin faded as her eyes sparked furiously, "Look, you're allowed to talk to me like friends, but that is _the one thing_ you are _not allowed_ to discuss. You cannot discuss Jane, under any circumstances. Understood? You are simply not allowed to."

Dumbstruck, Will nodded mutely. Finding his voice again, he added, "I understand."

"Good," Lizzy said. Then she relaxed. "So what are our plans for while we're here, oh tour guide of all tour guides?"

Chuckling and feeling relieved, he said, "Well… that depends. How long are you planning on staying?"

"We're here for two weeks," she told him. "We just arrived yesterday, and we leave… July thirty-first." She smiled triumphantly up at him, proud of herself for having remembering all that information. Usually, she forgot stuff like that less than five seconds after someone told her. Maybe that's why some people called her Goldie… short for Goldfish.

"Have you seen all the major landmarks?" he asked.

"Yeah, Charlotte and Hugo dragged me to them when I was here last month," she said, rolling her eyes at the painful memories. "I was such a third wheel that whole trip."

At the mention of the Rosings trip, Will felt his breath catch in his throat, remembering her rejection of him. However, he forced himself to swallow and said, "Well, good. Have Jake and Chris?"

"Oh, yeah," she said, nodding her head vigorously. "They've come here before. I hadn't been here before Lottie dragged me here."

"Good, well, that's out of the way then," he said. "I can show you some of the lesser known wonders of New York."

Seeing the look on his face, her face softened and she asked, "You really love this place, don't you?"

"I do," he said. _But not as much as I love you_.

But he knew better than to make that mistake again.

He didn't think he could handle rejection twice.

At least, not from Elizabeth.


	9. Sister Problems

A/N: When will you get it through your heads

**A/N: When will you get it through your heads? I own nothing! R&R please! **

Chapter 9

"And then… she turns and runs into the damn glass wall, at full speed! It was the most hysterical thing I've seen in my _life_!"

Elizabeth tried to glare at her friends, but she was laughing too hard to do so. "Shut up, Jake. What is this, 'Embarrass the Shit out of Elizabeth Night?'" she asked, snorting in laughter. "I could start telling everyone else all _your_ embarrassing moments, Jake, and I'd have to stay in New York for an extra _week_ just to get halfway through."

Jake scowled at her, but she merely smirked at him, as Will said, "Oh, pray do enlighten me. I wouldn't mind you staying for an extra week or two…"

Elizabeth's cheeks flushed a deep red color, as they had been doing so frequently the past four days that she, Jake, and Chris had spent with Will. He had taken them all over the city, from shopping hot spots to random restaurants. Now, they were having dinner in a future-themed restaurant, and they were waiting for their food to come out. The four of them had crammed into a booth with all their shopping bags, and, being the little meddlers that they were, Jake and Chris made Elizabeth sit next to Will.

Now, Will wasn't _purposefully_ invading her personal bubble, no. It wasn't _his_ fault that Chris and Jake had bought enough bags to fill a booth (and she thought girls shopped a lot! Ha!). It was _Will's_ fault that the two of them were forced to share a space of about two feet across, and that his leg was pressing into her intimately and that her head was dangerously near his shoulders.

No, in Elizabeth's opinion, this was all _Chris and Jake's_ fault.

Not that she was complaining.

"Oh, no, I couldn't do that," she said, still blushing. "Janey would _kill_ me if I did." Will's smile faltered a bit, and he said nothing further about Jane. "But thanks for the offer, Will."

Suddenly, someone's phone began to ring, and Elizabeth moved to check hers, before remembering that she had left it in her hotel room by accident. "Damn," she said, "I feel… naked without my phone."

Chris raised a single eyebrow at her and sniggered at her comment.

"Oh, excuse me," Will said, feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket. Pulling it out, he flipped it open and pressed it to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Will? It's Gee. I'm here._"

"Oh, that's great! We're in the booth in the far right corner… it's kind of crowded, but we can pull you up a chair."

Chris, Jake, and Lizzy exchanged confused glances. "Is someone else joining us?" Jake asked in a hushed voice.

"I don't know," Lizzy shrugged. She elbowed Will. "Hey. Is someone gonna be joining us?"

Will held up a single finger in her direction, signaling that he would tell her in a moment.

"_Oh, I can see you guys now, Will! I'm coming!_"

"Great, see you in a sec," he said, hanging up his phone. "My sister, Georgiana is here."

"That's great!" Lizzy said. "But how did she know we'd be here?"

"She called me this morning and I told her that you were in New York. She insisted on seeing you, so I told her that I was planning to take you guys here for dinner," he said, his eyes scanning the restaurant. They grew wide as he said, "Oh, there she is!"

A girl of about fifteen hurried over to them. She long, dark hair and she was very beautiful. She looked remarkably like a female version of Will. "Hi," she said, "I'm Georgiana, but call me Gee. Nice to meet you all." She gave Will a quick hug before they began to introduce themselves.

"I'm Christopher Adams," Chris said, "but call me Chris."

"I'm Jacob Matthews," Jake said, smiling broadly at her. "Call me Jake."

"And I'm Elizabeth Bennet," Lizzy said, smiling up at the girl, "call me Lizzy."

"Oh, so_ you're _the Elizabeth Bennet that my brother won't shut up about," Gee said, grinning mischievously and glancing at her elder brother. "In that case, it's _doubly_ nice to meet you."

The entire table, excepting Will, laughed in appreciation. Will, for his part, merely scowled.

Gee pulled a chair up to the end of the table, looking at all the shopping bags they had piled on the booth seats next to them and under the table. "Holy shit, who went credit card happy?" she asked, smiling broadly.

"Those two over there," Lizzy replied, jerking her head at Chris and Jake.

"Hey, some of those bags are yours!" Chris protested, looking indignant.

"Yeah, like _two_," she retorted. "And Will has one, but the other five thousand belong to the two of you, buying things for your 'families.' I bet every single thing each of you bought today was for yourselves."

Jake and Chris glanced at each other, guilty looks on both their faces. Together, they said, "Guilty as charged."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at them and said, "Please excuse my friends. Neither of them took their meds today."

Chris burst out into laughter, but Jake managed to look scandalized. "I beg your pardon!" he cried.

"Go ahead then," Elizabeth said smugly, folding her arms against her chest. "Beg."

Jake, having nothing else to say, merely stuck his tongue out at her. "That's mature," Will snorted.

"Yeah, 'cause _you're_ the most mature person," Gee commented snidely. "You still watch Saturday morning cartoons." Will gaped at his sister as the whole table erupted into laughter.

"Thanks, Gee," he said. "I love you, too."

"Can't you just feel the love emanating from them?" Lizzy said sarcastically, casually wrapping an arm around Will's shoulders. He stiffened, and then relaxed, blushing a deep red color, but Elizabeth didn't move her arm.

Honestly?

It felt good there.

TSTSTSTSTSTS

Elizabeth stumbled into her hotel room late that night, dead tired. Picking up her phone, she saw that she had a voice mail from Jane, who had, apparently, tried to call her several times. Pressing and holding the 1 button on the phone, she accessed her voice mail.

"_Hello, Lizzy? Why aren't you picking up your phone? Okay, I know you're in New York, but you really need to come home, right now. It's really urgent… okay, I'll tell you what happened. Lydia got involved with that guy from Chick-Fil-A that you liked for a bit a while back… George Wickham, yeah, that's the name. Anyway, apparently, she slept with him a few weeks ago and she missed her period. Lizzy, she's pregnant; she's taken about five tests to be sure. Just… call me back when you get this, you really need to come home right now. Love you, bye." _

There was a knock at the door. Making her way to the door and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand furiously, she called, "Coming!" She opened the door and found Will standing there, holding her purse.

"Lizzy?" he said, looking concerned as soon as he saw her tears. Holding her purse out to her, he continued, "You left this in my car and I figured you might need the stuff in it, so I brought it over… Elizabeth, what's wrong?"

She stepped back to let him step into the room and then shut the door behind him. She sat on her bed, patting the spot next to her. He sat next to her and repeated, "Lizzy, what's wrong?"

"Jane called me," she said through her tears, glancing at her phone. Reaching up with his large hands, he gently wiped away a few of her tears with his thumb. "Lydia… my youngest sister… she got involved with Wickham. She's pregnant, Will." His eyes grew wide at this news and he drew her to him in a tight hug. "This is all my fault, if only I had told her what kind of person Wickham was, I wouldn't have to mention you or your sister… I knew what he was and I didn't say anything!"

"Shhh," he said soothingly, stroking her hair in an attempt to comfort her. "None of this is your fault, Lizzy. There's no way you could've known."

She nodded into his shoulder, grateful for his presence. Reaching up with her arms, she wrapped them tightly around his neck, pulling him closer to her. She buried her face into the crook of his neck, salty tears still pouring down her cheeks. His hands moved to her back, rubbing gentle circles. He buried his own face in her hair, inhaling deeply to remember her slightly floral scent. Slowly, hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her gently onto his lap.

All in order to comfort her, of course.

Or, at least, that's what he told himself.

Lifting her head from his shoulder, she looked up at him. "Thanks so much, Will. You're really not a bad guy, I'm really sorry for all those things I yelled at you back in Rosings-"

"No, don't apologize," he cut her off. "I deserved it."

"No, you really didn't and Fitz was right, you are a good, loyal friend," she said, a few more tears leaking out of her eyes.

"Wait, Fitz said that?" he said, looking down at her in confusion. "When were you-"

She didn't know what came over her. She didn't know what made her do it.

But she kissed Will Darcy. His lips remained frozen against hers, as if in shock, as her arms around his neck tightened. He had no idea how this had happened (not that he was complaining) and he had no idea where this kissing thing could lead to, especially sitting on her bed (not that he was complaining about that either). He was just about to come to his sense and respond to her kiss, when she pulled away hastily, extracting herself from his arms, flushing as red as Charley's hair. "I'm so s-sorry," she stammered, and kept talking before Will could tell her that he really didn't mind at all. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to tease you like that. I've really got to go; it's a family emergency, they need me back at home. I'll go tell Chris and Jake, they'll bring my stuff back for me… I'm sorry." She backed out the room, finishing, "It was nice to see you again, Will, it really was, and again, I'm sorry."

And before he could protest, she was gone. Will sighed, assuming that he wasn't going to see her again until the school year started. It seemed like such a long way away, especially after she kissed him like _that_. When her lips were on his… it was like she _wanted_ him, like she _needed_ him. Almost as if she loved him back.

He sat on the foot of her bed for a few moments, alone, just thinking. Staring at the wall, he wondered if there was anything he could do to help her sister's plight. He felt so terrible; _he_ should've been the one to expose Wickham. He had known what he was from the very beginning, and his younger sister was almost raped by him, for Christ's sake! Suddenly, an idea struck him. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he pressed and held the 3 button.

"_Hello?_" said the voice on the other line.

"Hey, Charley," Will said into the phone.

"_God, Will, it's eleven o'clock at night! What the hell do you want?_"

"Look, I know this is going to sound crazy," he said, "but I need you to come back home with me. There's some stuff I've got to do that really can't wait until the school year starts again." Silence. "Charley, I know this might not appeal to you, but I really need you to come with me… and there's some stuff I've got to explain to you on the flight there. But please… please come."

Finally, Charley said, "_Well, it's about goddamn time, Will. I've wanted to go home the minute I left. There's a girl I've got to talk to._"


	10. Good Deeds and Unexpected Visitors

A/N: What I own nothing

**A/N: What I own nothing. R&R please, enjoy! **

Chapter 10

"Wake up, Lydia. We're here."

Lydia's blue-green eyes fluttered open groggily. "Already?" she asked sleepily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand. She had fallen asleep on the way to the doctor's in Lizzy's car. She had spread herself out on the back seat, because Lizzy was in the driver's seat and Jane was in the passenger's seat. Despite her mother's screams and insistence that Lydia have an abortion, Lydia had decided to go through with the pregnancy.

At this announcement, their mother had started to have a nervous breakdown, at which point Jane and Lizzy smuggled Lydia out of the house to take her to a doctor. "Yeah, we're here," Jane said softly. Eyeing her youngest sister carefully, she added, "Are you all right?"

"I'll be okay," Lydia sighed, pushing some of her blonde hair out of her face. Glancing out the window, she said, "Can we go in now? I want to see the doctor as soon as we can."

"Sure," Lizzy said agreeably, unbuckling and unlocking the doors of the car. "Let's go on in then."

The three sisters made their way into the doctor's office. Once inside, Lizzy and Lydia took seats in the corner of the waiting room, and Jane said, "I'll go check in."

As Jane made their way to the counter, Lizzy sighed heavily and leaned her head back against the wall, wondering how they were going to manage their domineering mother. "Lizzy?" Lydia said softly, her blue-green eyes wide as she looked at her older sister.

"Yeah, Lyd?" Lizzy said, looking at her. "What is it?"

"I'm so sorry about all of this," Lydia said, her eyes now sparkling as tears formed. "It's just… George told me that he loved me… and I was stupid enough to believe him… and then _sleep_ with him… God, what have I done?!"

"Hey, there," Lizzy said, gently placing her sister's head on her shoulder and sounding slightly alarmed, "shhhh. Everyone makes at least one big mistake in their lives. Just consider yourself lucky that you made yours now."

"How is that lucky?" Lydia snorted, grabbing a tissue out of the box on the coffee table in front of her. "I'm pregnant at the age of _fourteen_. How the hell is that lucky?"

"Because you get to learn from it early on," Lizzy said patiently. Thinking of Will, she added, "Kind of like me."

"Really?" Lydia said, cocking her head at her sister curiously. "What mistake have you made, Lizzy?"

"I judged someone _way_ before I should have… and hurt him deeply because of it," she moaned. She resisted the urge to turn around and bang her head against the wall repeatedly.

_She was in damn love with Will Darcy_.

"I'm sure he'll still forgive you, Lizzy," she said.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, who _wouldn't_ want to forgive you?" she replied. "You're really awesome, Lizzy, and everyone wants to be your friend. I'm actually kind of jealous."

"You? Jealous? Of me?" Elizabeth snorted. "You've always been popular, Lydia. How could you be jealous of me?"

"You're not popular, but you've always had really good friends," Lydia explained. "And those who aren't your friends are either jealous of you or they _want_ to be your friends."

Just then, Jane made her way back over to them, looking bewildered. "What's up, Jane?" Lizzy said. "You look like you just saw a flying frog on fire."

"The secretary said that… that all the medical expenses are paid for," Jane said, still looking confused. "All her doctor visits… all the medicine… all the stuff for when the baby's actually born… _everything_. That's _a lot_ of money."

"But no one else knows except for our family!" Lizzy said. Thinking, she amended, "Well, Chris and Jake know, but neither of them have that kind of money…"

Realization dawned on her face as Lizzy remember someone else she told about Lydia's pregnancy, someone who _did_ have that kind of money.

"Oh my God," she whispered, her eyes wide with shock. "He _is_ in love with me."

TSTSTSTSTS

When Lizzy got home, she was prepared to break into the Bingley house next door in the hopes of finding a number at which she could reach Will. She was fully prepared to tackle Jane and steal her cell phone to call Charley and to yell at Charley until she gave him Will's number. She was fully prepared to call Chris or Jake, who were both still in New York, and have them walk over to Pemberley so she could talk to Will over the phone. In short, she was prepared to do whatever it took to reach Will.

However, she was in no way prepared to find Charley and Will waiting for them at their house. "That's Charley's car," Jane whispered softly as they pulled into the driveway. Glancing through the large living room window, Lizzy could see both Charley and Will sitting on the couch; Charley was looking nervous, as though he was about to jump out of a plane at 10, 000 feet.

Metaphorically, he was.

As soon as they passed through the front door, Lydia scampered up the stairs to the room she shared with Kitty; she wasn't in the mood to see anyone at the moment. Jane and Lizzy slowly made their way to the living room.

"Hi, Will, Charley," Lizzy said, letting her gaze linger pointedly longer on Will than it had on Charley.

"Hello, Lizzy," Will said softly.

"Hi," Charley muttered; it was supposed to be for both girls, but he had eyes only for Jane. "Jane, may I please speak to you alone?"

"It's okay, Lizzy," Jane said, looking sideways at her sister. "I'll be fine."

"Okay, then," Lizzy said, wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans. Her hands had started sweating like _crazy_ the minute she had spotted Will. God, why was she so damn _nervous_?

Will stood and the two of them exited the room side by side. Lizzy silently led him to their backyard, where she sat slumped again a small tree. "Wanna sit?" she asked, patting a spot of dirt next to her.

"Sure," he said, sitting down next to her.

"Look, I know you probably don't want me to, because you'll be embarrassed, but I'm going to do it anyway, because I won't be able to sleep at night until I do. I know what you did for my sister," she said. Upon hearing this, he flushed a deep red color, and she continued, "I have no idea how to thank you for doing such a kind… expensive thing… so… thanks."

"It was no problem," he said, running a hand nervously through his dark hair. "Does the rest of your family know?"

"No, just me," she said, shaking her head. "I'm sure if they did, they'd be thanking you too."

"They wouldn't need to," he said, "I just did it for you."

Lizzy opened her mouth, to admit to him that she realized that she did in fact have feeling for him, but before she could do so, Jane burst out of the back door. "Charley asked me out!" she squealed, grinning happily at her sister. Upon seeing Will, however, she blushed deeply and said, "Sorry, Will. I thought Lizzy was out here by herself."

"It's okay, Jane," Will chuckled. "That was actually rather amusing. I'm happy for the both of you."

"I'm happy for you guys, too," Lizzy said, beaming at her sister broadly. Turning to Will, she said, "Sorry to bail on you, but I think my sister wants to talk to me."

"It's no problem," Will said. "I understand. It's a girl thing. Go ahead."

Smiling, Lizzy stood and made her way back toward the house. Pausing in the doorway, she stopped and looked back at Will once more. "We'll talk later, okay? I promise," she said.

"Sounds good," he told her, returning her smile broadly. "I'll see you later then."

"Yeah," she said, stepping into the house and closing the door.

As soon as she was inside and well outside earshot, he ran a hand through his hair anxiously and said, "_Shit!_" When was he ever going to get up the guts to tell her that he loved her again?

Walking around the side of the house, making his way back to the Bingley home, he brushed past Charley, who was getting something out of his car. "Oh, hey, Will!" Charley said, pulling his head out of his car quickly and bumping it on the top of the door frame in the process. Rubbing his head tenderly, he asked, "Where are you going?"

Will was about to reply and tell him that he was going home, but he suddenly changed his mind and said, "To the pool."

"Okay, have fun," Charley said. "I'm just gonna stay here for a while. I have to wait though; apparently, Jane is talking to Lizzy." Grinning crookedly, he added, "It could be a while. Girl stuff, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Will said, nodding his head slowly.

"Are you okay, man?" Charley asked, closing the car door and taking a step toward his best friend. "You're acting kind of weird, you know that?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… it's just…" he said, his voice trailing off uncertainly.

"Lizzy?" Charley suggested, a knowing grin spreading across his handsome face.

"Yeah," he said, nodding his head. "I mean… we're obviously friends now, but… I still love her. And I want to tell her again, but I'm…"

"You're afraid," he said, looking shocked. "_The_ Will Darcy is afraid of rejection?"

Scowling, Will said, "Yes, I am. I already got rejected by _her_ once, I don't need to go through it again."

"Ah," Charley said, realization dawning on his face. "It's not rejection itself, it's the fact that _she's_ rejecting you."

"Right." Will stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking down at his shoes with interest. Charley scrutinized his best friend carefully, almost as if he was searching for something he wasn't sure whether or not he'd actually find.

Finally, Charley sucked in a quick breath. "Good God," he breathed, "you really _do_ love her."

"Well, duh," Will shrugged. "I thought that was obvious when I told her so. And when I paid for her sister's medical expenses. That should've been a big hint."

"Yeah, but you'd do that for me, if one of my sisters needed it," Charley explained. "I mean… I wasn't sure if you just felt a strong friendship feeling for her and were confusing it with love. But… my God, you _love _her, Will. You've never even _dated _any other girl before."

"Because I was a stupid, arrogant dickhead!" he said in exasperation. "Because I was a jerk. Because I was an asshole. I'm a better person now."

"Yeah, I've noticed that," Charley nodded. "I have to admit, doubts about your feelings or not, I was surprised when her words affected you as much as they did."

"Well… I knew people thought that about me," Will admitted. "But hearing it from her made it so much different. I realized that people actually judged me based on it. And that I was being rejected by the girl I _loved_ because of it. And then I realized that I had to change, in order to become a decent human being. And if I was going to be able to live with myself."

Charley was quiet for a few moments, before he sighed, "Look, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I'm going to, because I think you need to hear it."

Will, who had been staring at the Bennets' driveway for the past few minutes, snapped his head up and said, "What?"

"Jane told me this right after she agreed to be my girlfriend," Charley told him, unable to keep the pleased expression off of his face. "We got on the subject of you and Lizzy and she told me…"

"She told you what?" Will said urgently. "Charley, what is it?"

"Well, Jane hasn't had time to confirm with Lizzy but…" he said, running a hand through his red hair, "she has her suspicions."

"Suspicions about _what_?" he said, frustrated now. "Damn it, just tell me, Charley!"

"Jane believes that Lizzy's in love with you," Charley said, staring at his shoes. He looked up, to try to catch the expression on Will's face.

But Will was gone, the front door of the Bennet house swinging shut.

He had to talk to Elizabeth.


	11. Kissing in the Rain

A/N: I still own absolutely nothing

**A/N: I still own absolutely nothing. Fluff warning! R&R! Enjoy! **

Chapter 11

Will sighed in frustration, returning to the Bingley house after a trip to the pool. After his conversation with Charley, he had rushed inside to talk to Elizabeth, only to have Jane tell him that she went down to Chick-Fil-A to "take care" of George Wickham, and that it was probably in his best interest _not_ to try to find her. He had grudgingly made his way to the pool, where he stayed for a few hours, before finally returning to the Bingley house once it started to thunder. He sighed, glancing out the window. He had planned to go next door to the Bennets' after he showered up, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to go out in a storm. Sighing, he figured he'd just call her.

TSTSTSTSTS

Elizabeth returned home about half an hour after Will left it, and she found Jane and Charley kissing on the couch. Throwing her rain jacket at them, she muttered, "Get a room." Then she stomped off to their bedroom.

Pulling away from the kiss, Jane said, "She sounded really pissed off."

"Yeah, she did," Charley agreed, looking down at his girlfriend. "Do you need to go check on her?"

"Probably," Jane sighed, standing up. Glancing back at Charley, she said, "Sorry."

"It's okay," he smiled. "She's your sister; she needs you. I understand. Go ahead."

"Thanks," she smiled, heading toward the room she shared with Lizzy. Knocking on the door, she said, "Liz? It's me. Can I come in?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth grunted on the other side of the door. Jane opened it and entered the room, seeing Elizabeth lying face down on the bed.

Shutting the door behind herself, Jane took a seat on the bed and patted her sister on the back. "I take it things didn't go well with Wickham?"

"No," Lizzy muttered into the covers. "It did not. I almost got charged with assault and battery, and the stupid-ass cop wouldn't even _hear_ of Lydia's charge of statutory rape. He's nineteen, you know." At this, Lizzy glanced up at her sister. "Sorry I made you stop making out with Charley."

"It's okay," Jane said, still patting her sister's back. "He understands."

"He's a really great guy, you know," Elizabeth smiled up at her sister. "You're lucky to have him."

"Yeah, he is great," Jane sighed. Glancing down at her sister, she added, "You know who else is a great guy?"

"Hmmm?"

"Will," Jane said, and Lizzy almost choked on her own spit. Jane added, "I haven't had time to confirm this with you, Lizzy, but I've got this hunch."

"What hunch?" her sister asked suspiciously, eyeing her warily.

"I think you're in love with him," Jane said, bracing herself for the abrasive scolding that was sure to follow. However, silence followed her declaration. "Lizzy? Aren't you going to yell at me for having such a preposterous idea?"

Lizzy laughed mirthlessly. "I would… if it _were_ preposterous. Jane… I _am_ in love with him."

Jane gasped, not having expected her sister to admit to it so readily. "Since… when?"

"I think it started when Chris, Jake, and I ran into him in New York…" Lizzy started, but Jane cut her off.

"You ran into him in New York?" she said, looking surprised at hearing this. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"Well, because I was on vacation, and then we had the whole Lydia crisis," she said, waving her hands in the air. "But I just realized it today, when I was talking to Lydia in the waiting room at the doctor's office. Damn it, Jane, I freaking _love_ him."

Smiling down at her sister, Jane said, "Aw… ickle Lizzy has her first love! You grew up so fast!"

"Shut it," Lizzy said, but was grinning nonetheless. "Aw, shit. I've got to talk to him. Do you know where he is?"

"No, I don't, sorry," Jane said, shaking her head. Then she grinned brightly and added, "But I bet Charley does! Come on!" She grabbed her sister's hand and hauled her out of their room and into the living room. "Charley, do you know where Will is?"

"Yeah, he was going to the pool last I saw him," Charley said, scratching his head as he thought about it.

"Thanks so much, Charley," Lizzy said happily, zipping out the front door.

"Wait, Liz! That was a few hours ago!" Charley called after her, but it was no use. She was gone.

"There's a storm about to start, too," Jane said worriedly, glancing out the window.

"Don't worry about her, Jane," Charley said reassuringly. "She's a big girl. Besides, if Will isn't there, Lizzy isn't reckless enough to go in a pool while it's thundering."

Jane looked at skeptically. "You don't know my sister very well, do you?"

TSTSTSTSTSTSTS

"Damn it!"

Lizzy grabbed the chain link fence surrounding the neighborhood pool and shook it furiously. Will was nowhere to be found. Sighing, she sat on the edge of the pool, dipping her feet in the cool water. She might as well enjoy it while she was here; it was a good twenty minutes walk from her house to the pool. Ignoring the thunder and lightning, she slipped her entire body into the pool. After all, she had been wanting to go swimming for a while.

TSTSTSTSTSTSTSTS

Once he emerged from the shower, Will picked up the landline phone at the Bingley house and dialed the Bennets' number, which was conveniently written on a sticky note place right next to the phone.

"_Hello?_"

"Hi, this is Will," he said into the phone, wondering who he was talking to.

"_Oh, hey, Will! It's Jane_," said the voice on the other line, which, now that he thought about it, sounding just like Jane.

"Oh, hi, Jane," he said good-naturedly. "Can I please talk to Lizzy?"

"_Actually, you can't_," Jane said.

"Oh," he replied, sounding disappointed, even to himself.

"_No, I mean, she's not here_," Jane laughed. "_Actually, she was looking for you. She went to go check the pool_."

"In the middle of a storm?" he asked incredulously.

"_For the love of God, yes! When will you and Charley get it through your thick heads? Lizzy is as reckless as Evel goddamn Knieval!_" she said.

Chuckling, Will said, "Okay, then. I think I got it. How long ago did she go to check?"

"_Um… about forty-five minutes ago, I think. Why?_"

Will didn't reply.

He had hung up and was already halfway out the door by the time Jane finished her sentence.

Will reached the neighborhood pool about thirty minutes later, after stopping three separate times to ask random people for directions. He had grown quite worried during that time, considering that it was now pouring rain and thunder and lightning were striking more and more frequently. He reached the gate and realized that he hadn't brought the key with him. "You've got to be freaking _kidding_ me," he muttered under his breath, beginning to scale the fence. Upon reaching the other side, he made his way carefully to the edge of the pool and spotted Elizabeth floating on the water on her back, her eyes closed lazily. A small smile graced her face as the drops of rain continued to patter down on her. "Elizabeth!" he yelled over the din of the rain. Her eyes fluttered open as she pulled herself upright and began to tread water. "What the hell are you doing here? There's freaking lighting! You could be killed!"

Chuckling to herself, Elizabeth swam to the edge of the pool and hauled herself out of it. Will took in the sight of her, wearing only a white t-shirt and denim shorts, all soaking wet.

Glancing down at herself, Elizabeth sighed, realizing that this was the _second_ time she was wearing a wet white t-shirt in front of Will. Well, at least this time she had a bra on.

"What are _you_ doing here, Will?" she said. "I was looking for _you_."

"Well, I was looking for _you_," he frowned. "I wanted to talk to you, so I called your house, and Jane said you came here to look for me."

"Yeah, and here I am," she said, taking a step closer to him. "What did you want to talk about?"

Will wasn't sure why, but something about the dangerous way she was advancing upon him made him take a step backwards. "Y-you said we would talk," he said nervously. "Remember? In your backyard, we were sitting near the tree? You promised."

Taking another step forward (he took another back), she replied, "Of course I remember, Will. And I always keep my promises."

She took another step forward, and he took another back. The fence rattled as his back collided with it. "What did you want to talk about?" she repeated. "Because I had something _other_ than talking in mind."

"W-what?" he stammered nervously. "Elizabeth… you're worrying me."

A dangerous smile spread over her face as she said, "Aw, shut it, Will."

And then she was right there, right in front of him. Her nose was touching his and her lips were mere centimeters away. "Lizzy," he said softly, reaching up and brushing a lock of her wet hair back from her face. "You better not be teasing me. I don't think I could handle that."

She grinned at him crookedly. "Will, that hurts," she said. "I thought you knew me well enough to know that I _never_ tease."

And she was kissing him, and he was kissing her back, and it was far better than he ever imagined. Her hands traveled from his waist up his back, and finally came to a stop on his well-muscled chest. His muscles trembled beneath her touch, as his hands wandered their way down to grasp her waist.

And then her tongue was in his mouth, and, oh, he didn't think he could take it anymore.

Pulling away from the kiss, he pressed her body against his, resting his chin on the top of her head, tears pouring down his cheeks. He sniffed in an effort to make himself stop crying, but his tear ducts refused to cooperate. "Will?" she said, sounding concerned as she pulled away from him and looked up. "Will, why are you crying?" Grimacing, she said, "I'm not _that_ bad of a kisser, am I?"

The corners of his mouth twisted up into a small smile, as he said, "No, you're not, Elizabeth. You are actually a really excellent kisser."

"Okay, good then," she said, reaching up with her hands to cup his face on either side. "Why are you crying then?"

"It's just… oh, God… I've wanted this ever since you came to pick up Jane from my house when she was sick," he said, a few more tears escaping the protection of his eyelids, despite his attempts to stifle them.

"That long?" she asked incredulously. Shaking her head, she added, "God, Will. I'm so sorry I was such a bitch to you back at Rosings. You really didn't deserve it."

"No, I did," he protested. "You made me a better person."

"Good to know," she said, smiling and biting her lip.

"I can't believe I'm freaking _crying_," he said, wiping his eyes and laughing. "God, I'm never going to live this down, am I?"

"Hmmmm," Elizabeth said, pretending to consider it. "No, probably not. But that's okay. I still love you."

He gaped at her silently for a few moments before he managed to choke out, "You what?"

"I love you," she repeated. "Didn't you know?"

"No," he said stupidly, shaking his head of wet hair. Smiling and kissing her forehead sweetly, he added, "But I love you, too."

"Good," she said, burying her face in his chest. After a few moments, she looked up at him and said, "You told Charley what you and Caroline did, didn't you?"

He nodded. "I knew that I needed to… he was actually very angry with me for several hours," he said.

"Really? Charley? Angry? I don't believe it," she said, laughing.

"I told him at the airport when we were coming back from New York, and he didn't speak to me for the whole flight. In fact, he didn't speak to me until we went to your house," he explained.

"Wow, that's a sight I'd have to see to believe," she chuckled. "You know, no one's going to believe us when we tell them that we're dating."

"Yeah, I know," he agreed, with a mischievous grin. "I guess we'll just have to prove it to them, eh?"

Smiling, she proved to him just how much she loved him.


	12. GoKarts and Revelations

A/N: I still own nothing

**A/N: I still own nothing. Thanks for all the reviews! I'm trying to decide how far I want to go with this story… I'll let you know. Got a suggestion? Review! **

Chapter 12

"I'm gonna kick the shit out of you, Darcy!"

Lizzy grinned back at her boyfriend, who was sitting the go-kart behind her. Smirking, he said, "Not if I beat you to it, Lizzy!"

"You're a sissy, Will," she reminded him as the attendants checked all of their safety belts. "Who was the one who _cried_ when we first kissed?"

"First of all, that was the _second_ time we kissed," he pointed out with a smile, "remember in your hotel room in New York? Second of all, will you _stop_ bringing that up?"

"Let me think," she said, pretending to consider it while revving up her engine. "No way in hell."

The attendant signaled for them to go, and they were off.

Elizabeth slammed her foot on the gas pedal, taking off with just a single glance back at Will. He was right behind her, tailing her closely in the hopes of passing her. "Ain't gonna happen, pretty boy," she muttered to herself, keeping the gas pedal pressed down all the way and hugging the turns in the track tightly. She passed the person who was directly in front of her, and glanced backwards momentarily. "Damn," she muttered. Will had passed the driver, too, and he was still right behind her.

"Having fun, Lizzy?" he shouted over the din of the roaring engines, a smirk plastered on his handsome face.

"Only because I'm kicking your ass, Will," she yelled back, her grin growing wider. They had completed a few more laps around the track when Elizabeth felt someone bump her from behind. Glancing backwards in irritation, she saw Will _still_ behind her, a mischievous grin spread across his face. "Yo, bumping's not allowed!"

"Oops!" he yelled at her. "It must've slipped."

Glaring at him, Elizabeth eased up on the gas a little and moved to the other side of the lane, almost as if she was going to make a wide turn. Will seized the opportunity and zoomed forward, only to have Elizabeth move back to the other side of the lane and slam hard into the side of his go-kart. "Hey, this isn't bumper cars!" he protested loudly, glancing around quickly to see if an attendant was watching, hoping he could get her thrown off of the course. However, there was none, and he was _still_ behind her.

"What goes around comes around," she sniped loudly. "Eat my dust, pretty boy!" She zoomed in front of him and around the curve in the track, and he lost sight of her.

"Damn!" he muttered.

TSTSTSTSTS

"I can't believe you won."

Will scowled at Lizzy as they walked back to the main building of the park, where they kept the arcade games. "I'm just awesome like that," she said cockily, smiling sideways at him. "It's okay, Will. You don't have to be ashamed that you lost to a girl. After all, _you_ were the one who cried when we first kissed."

"Shut up," he groaned, closing his eyes tightly as if in pain.

"Aw, don't be like that, Will," she said, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked down at her arms around him, smiling in happy satisfaction. He wrapped his own strong arms around her as they continued along the path. "I guess I'll forgive you then," he said. "Where are Charley and Jane?"

"They're in the arcade," Lizzy replied. "They're going to get as many tickets as possible and pool them together to get a joint prize."

"They didn't want to go go-karting?" Will asked incredulously, looking down at her.

"Is that surprising?" she snorted. "Go-karting is _way_ too competitive for them; think about it. Charley is too nice to say anything to his bitchy sister, and Janey is too nice to even swat a fly. They'd hate to be competitive with, God forbid, _each other_."

"You're right," he said, laughing. "Whereas you and I are-"

"-always competing with each other?" she chuckled into his shirt, pressing her face into his chest.

His grin grew as he said, "Well, I was going to say more comfortable with competition, but that works, too."

By this time, they had reached the main building and stepped into the cool air-conditioned room. "Ah," Lizzy sighed, loosening her hold on Will's body a bit. "Air-conditioning."

Frowning slightly, Will placed his hands on Lizzy's hands and drew her arms more tightly across his body again. As she smiled up at him, he said, "Do you want to play in the arcade?"

"Duh," she smiled. "Of course I do." Looking up at him again, she said, "But you have all our tokens."

"Oh, right," he said, digging in the left pocket of his jeans with one of his large hands. After rummaging around a bit, he pulled out a handful of tokens and poured them into Lizzy's expectant, open hand. He then pulled out a handful for himself as they entered the arcade.

"Lizzy!" said a voice.

Releasing her hold on Will (much to his dismay), Elizabeth turned around to find herself face to face with her sister. "Hey, Janey," Lizzy greeted, hugging her sister tightly. "How's the gaming been going?"

"It's been going great!" she replied cheerfully, wiping some of her blonde hair out of her face. "Charley hit the jackpot in Cyclone about twelve times, so we've got a lot of tickets."

Upon hearing this, Will began to chuckle, covering his mouth with his fist. "What?" Lizzy demanded, looking at her boyfriend curiously.

"Charley once spent a whole day at an arcade, trying to figure out the timing on that game," Will said. "Everyone poked fun at him for it, but since that day… he's hit jackpot on it pretty much every time ever since."

"Wow," Lizzy giggled, "Jane, you sure know how to pick 'em."

"Yeah, she sure does," Charley said, coming up from behind and wrapping his arms around Jane, holding a huge stack of tickets.

"How many tickets have you guys won?" Will asked curiously, looking at all the tickets that his friend was holding.

"We don't know yet," Charley shrugged. "We have to take them to the counter to get them counted."

"Right," Lizzy said, looking at the tickets in an awed manner. "But that looks like a lot."

"Hey," Will said, nudging her playfully. "You up for a Dance Dance Revolution Duel?"

A grin spread across her face. "It's on!"

TSTSTSTSTSTSTS

That night, Will and Lizzy met by the neighborhood pool around ten o'clock. Lizzy spotted him and made her way over to him, yawning widely. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah," he said, cocking his head at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, yawning again. "I'm just sleepy."

"Oh… sorry," he said, grinning down at her sheepishly. "If I had known you were this tired, I would've just come over to your house instead of making you walk all the way over here, Lizzy."

"No, it's okay," she said hastily, taking a step closer to him so that she could hug him tightly. "We wouldn't get any time alone together at my house or at yours, so meeting you here is _definitely_ worth the walk."

"Good to know," he smiled, pressing a kiss to her hair. "Did you have fun today?"

"What kind of question is that, Will?" she snorted into his shirt. "You know I had fun today. Especially by the Pacman game…"

"You're only saying that because we made out there," he protested.

"And that's not fun?" she quipped, looking up at him with a cheeky grin spread across her face.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically. "It's good to know you love me just for my kissing skills. You know, it's nice to know where I stand in our relationship."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Aw, don't be a dumbass, Will. You know as well as I that I love you for you. After all, I loved you before I kissed you."

"No," he pointed out, shaking his head. "You kissed me in your hotel room in New York, and that was before you loved me."

"That doesn't even count as a kiss!" she protested loudly, looking at him sharply. "You didn't respond _whatsoever_. I was mortified. Besides, I loved you then. I was just too stubborn to admit it to myself."

"Well, that's good to know," he said, allowing a small smile to spread across his face. Looking down at her again, he said, "You're beautiful."

"And you're cute," she said, smiling as she reached up to cup his cheek with one hand.

"I resent that," he retorted, wrinkling his nose. "Cute? You make me sound like a five-year old."

"Well, what do you want me to say? Hot?" she suggested, raising her eyebrows skeptically. "I don't know, Will… makes you sound like an oven."

He threw his head back in laughter. "Only you would think of that, Lizzy. But really… 'cute'? Could you come up with a better adjective? _Please_?"

"Okay, fine," she said reluctantly. "Let me think…"

"Oh, come on. It can't be that hard," he told her impatiently, tapping his toe on the ground.

"Okay, I've got it," she said, snapping her fingers behind his back. "You're handsome."

"There, that's better," he sighed happily. "More befitting of someone like me."

"'Befitting'?" she snorted, glaring up at him. "What are you, British?"

"No," he said, having nothing better to say.

They glared at each other fore a moment, before Lizzy said, "Oh, damn it, Will, just kiss me."

Grinning cockily, he leaned forward to oblige her request. He pressed his lips to hers, one of his hands finding the small of her back and the other supporting the back of her neck. Both her hands reached up to cup his face, gently pulling it closer to hers as she slipped her tongue inside his mouth.

He moaned into her mouth, his tongue meeting hers, his lips moving against hers. Slowly, he backed her up until her back was against the chain link fence. Pulling his lips from hers, he heard her gasp as his lips worked against the column of her neck. Gently, carefully, he grasped her thigh and pulled it into a position around his waist, slipping a warm hand under the dark blue t-shirt she was wearing.

Her hands moved to rest against his chest, as she said, "Will."

"What?" he said, looking up from her neck.

"Kiss me here," she said, tapping her lips with one finger before returning the hand to rest on his sculpted chest.

"Okay," he said, grinning crookedly. He kissed her on the mouth once more. He kissed her long and hard, and the kiss was so sweet that Lizzy felt she may start to cry. Pulling away breathlessly, he rested his forehead against hers, his breath washing over her face as he panted heavily.

Standing on her tiptoes to reach him, she kissed the side of his face, right where his jaw began under his ear, and he shuddered, wrapping his arms around her more tightly. She gently took his earlobe between her teeth, causing him to moan and press her body to his. "Elizabeth."

Smiling, she buried her face in the crook of his neck and said, "Yes?"

"You're going to be the death of me," he told her, chuckling, the vibrations in his chest radiating through both their bodies.

"Oh, what a shame," she clucked, looking up at him, her blue eyes shining with laughter. "Oh… I don't think I ever told you this, but I'm sorry I called you an ass when I first met you."

His eyes widening, he asked, "You called me an ass when you first met me?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding her head. "Right after you walked away in the middle of our conversation. Then Charlotte came over and I vented."

"Well, I deserved it," he admitted. Then he said, "How is Charlotte?"

"I wouldn't know," she shrugged. "She hardly ever talks to me, ever since she started dated Hugo."

"I'm sorry," he said, looking sincere. "I'm sorry that it's affected your relationship so much. So… how are Chris and Jake?"

"They're fine," she replied. "They're doing well. Actually, I'm supposed to be going to a movie with them tomorrow."

"Have fun!"

"You don't have a problem with that?" she asked skeptically.

"No, why should I?" he asked, looking down at her curiously.

"You shouldn't," she replied. "But I don't know… most guys would have a problem with it."

"I trust them," Will said, shrugging. "After all, they're the reason why we're together."

"What do you mean?" she asked him sharply.

"Well, if Chris and Jake hadn't taken you to New York, you may never have realized that you loved me," he said. "But Chris didn't say he was bringing you with him to New York when he called to ask me if he could visit Pemberley."


	13. Revenge and Empty Parks

A/N: Ack

**A/N: Ack! So sorry I haven't posted in forever, but I've had writers block on this story! Anyway, I still own nothing, except for Chris and Jake. Please read and review. **

Chapter 13

"CHRISTOPHER JOSHUA ADAMS!"

Chris jumped from his sitting position on the couch as Elizabeth Bennet burst into his house. "Oh, shit," he muttered, easily guessing why she was there and why she was yelling with what could only be described as a murderous rage.

"Lizzy, calm down! I don't think this is necessary!" came another voice.

"Shut _up_, Will!" Chris heard Lizzy say as he made his way to the kitchen stealthily. "Chris, I'm going to find you sooner or later! Sooner will probably be better than later, because if it's later, I'll just be even angrier."

Sighing, Chris stepped out into the entrance hall, grinning cheekily. "Hey, Lizzy," he greeted. "What brings you here at such a late hour?"

Scowling furiously, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and threw him up against the wall, growling, "You lied to me, you dirty, little rascal."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Lizzy," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching as though he wanted to smile.

"You know very well what I'm talking about," she snarled. "You told me that Will wasn't going to be at Pemberley when we went, but you _knew_ he was going to be. You _called _him to make sure he was going to be. I bet Jake was in on this, too, huh?"

"No, actually, he wasn't," Chris said, shaking his head frantically. He didn't want Jake to be subjected to Lizzy's anger for something he didn't do. "Jake didn't even know I had done anything of the sort."

Will stood in the background, looking torn between amusement and confusion. "I can't believe you'd do something like this, Chris!" she hissed, tightening her grasp on his shirt.

"Relax, Lizzy," he chuckled. "After all, it _is_ the reason you and Will got together in the first place. You should be thanking me."

Sighing heavily, he released him, and he dropped about two inches back to the floor. Will stepped up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Bending his head so that his mouth was right at her ear, he whispered, "I'm still confused."

Chuckling, she turned to face him, resting her hands on his sculpted chest. "When we were going to New York, Chris told me that we had to visit Pemberley because it was amazing. I freaked out, because I thought you were going to be there. But Chris assured me that you were in Buffalo visiting Gee. When you showed up there, he pretended to be just as surprised as I was, even though he knew you were going to be there. You gave it away when you mentioned that he called beforehand to ask if we could visit."

"Oh, I see," Will said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Are you doing being angry?"

"I think so," she replied, smiling up at him.

"Ugh, get a room," Chris groaned, covering his eyes.

"Oh, grow up, Chris," Lizzy told him, turning to face him with a scowl back on her face. "Besides, you're the one who got us together; you have to be able to handle the consequences."

"Something I will do with honor, for you," he said, bowing dramatically to her, which caused her to roll her eyes.

Curiously, Will asked, "How long have you guys been friends?"

"Forever," Chris replied, grinning.

At the same time, Lizzy responded, "An eternity."

"We've been friends since kindergarten," Chris explained, shrugging his shoulders. "Then in eighth grade we started doing karate together. We met Jake at karate."

"Actually, _I _met Jake at karate," Lizzy interjected, glaring pointedly at Chris. "I met him a few months before I introduced him to Chris… and at first they didn't get along too well. I think it was because they were competing for the spot of my best friend." She winked at Will, making him chuckle.

"Oh, please," Chris snorted. "I didn't like him at first because I thought he was annoying as hell."

"Now, now, Chris," she said, smiling patronizingly at him. "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

"Yada, yada, yada," he said, waving his hand at her and yawning widely. "It's late, I'm sleepy… get out of my house."

"Are you kicking us out?" Will asked, fighting the urge to laugh.

"Yes, yes, I am," Chris replied with a courteous grin. The grin faded as he barked, "Now get out!"

Lizzy and Will hurried from the house. "I'll see you at the movies tomorrow," Lizzy called loudly through the front door. She heard an affirmative grunt from the other side.

Will grabbed her hand, gently pulling her entire body closer to his and smiling down at her. He began leading her back toward their houses.

"Where are we going?" Lizzy asked, looking bewildered.

"Home," he replied, smiling at her. "Aren't you still sleepy?"

She shook her head. "No, not anymore," she replied with a smile. "You made me want to kick the shit out of Chris, which _really_ woke me up well."

He chuckled, saying, "But it's eleven o'clock! You should be getting home."

"Will, don't treat me like a ten-year old," she scowled. "I'm your girlfriend, not your sister."

"Okay, okay," he said, stopping short and grabbing her other hand as well. "Where do you want to go then?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, a playful grin spreading over her face. "I know where to go," she said, leading him off in the opposite direction.

"May I ask where?"

"No, you may not," she teased, looking back at him and winking. But she still didn't tell him where they were going.

"You're very beautiful when you're being mischievous," he told her, a crooked grin spreading across his face.

"Don't be a kiss-ass," she advised him, squeezing his hand in hers. He squeezed it back, wondering where they could be going.

She led him into a park and over to a tall tree. "What is this place?" he asked, slumping down against the trunk of the tree next to her.

"It's just the local park," she replied with a shrug. "I like to come here sometimes, when I can't sleep or something. I usually leave Janey a note, but since she knows I went out to meet you, she won't be too worried."

At this, Will blushed a deep red color. "How long are you planning for us to stay here?" he asked.

She shrugged again. "Absolutely no idea. You're free to leave at any time, though. I won't get mad, I promise."

"I'm not leaving," he replied, grinning when her head nestled itself onto his broad shoulder. "I was just wondering."

"Okay," she chirped happily, staring out into the darkness of the night. Finally, she said, "It's only three more weeks until school starts."

"Really?" he said, glancing down at her. "I didn't realize."

She shook her head. "You don't mind the age difference… do you?"

"Age difference?" he said, looking down at her in a shocked manner now. "What the hell are you talking about, Lizzy?"

"You're going to be a senior and I'm going to be a junior," she explained, scowling.

"No, I'm not," he chuckled.

"But you said yourself that you turned seventeen at the start of the summer," she said, sitting up and looking alert. "And I turned sixteen back in March."

"Yes, I did turn seventeen at the beginning of the summer," he responded, nodding his head. "I was offered to either be one of the youngest in my grade or one of the oldest. I chose the oldest. I just finished my sophomore year back in May."

"Really?" she said, perking up considerably.

"Really," he said, nodding again. "Charley's going to be senior, though."

"Yeah, so is Janey." she said, craning her neck so that she could kiss him under the chin. "I love you, Will."

"I love you, too, Liz," he replied, looking slightly shocked at the arbitrary nature of her declaration. He wrapped both his strong arms around her, gently hauling her onto his lap. "I love everything about you."

"Aw, that's sweet," she said, grinning up at him. "But don't sugarcoat it, Will."

"No, I mean it," he told her earnestly, looking down at her with a gargantuan grin spread across his handsome face. "I love your eyes, your mouth, your hair, your nose-"

"My nose?" she said skeptically, wrinkling said nose.

"Yes," he nodded, and continued, "the… rest of your body. But most of all, I love your personality. I love how you stand up for yourself. I love how you have close friends that you trust completely, and I love how close you are to Jane. I love how beautiful you are when you smile, and I love how beautiful you are when you cry."

Elizabeth felt herself begin to tear up at the sincerity of his proclamation, but bit her lip, listening to him continue.

"I love how feisty you get when you're angry, and how you're not afraid to speak your mind. I love how it's so hard to gain your trust, to get you to open up to a person, but I also love how deep your trust and confident in a person runs once it's been earned. I also love the fact that you invested your trust me, judging by how you broke down in front of me when you found out about Lydia. And I… I love how you love me."

He looked embarrassed at the end of this speech, his head hung low and his blue eyes staring daggers into the ground next to him. He sighed, his hands fluttering over her stomach nervously. "I'm sorry if that was too much to dump on you at once," he muttered into her ear. "I'm really sorry."

She turned in his lap to face him, a few tears shining in her bright blue eyes. "Oh, no, don't cry, Elizabeth," he said, his eyes growing wide as he took in the sight of her tears. "What did I do? I swear I'll never do it again!"

"No, no, no, it's okay," she told him, wiping away a few of the tears with the back of one of her hands. He took over the job for her, reaching up with his large hands to wipe away the tears with his thumbs. "I'm crying because… because what you said is probably the sweetest, most honest thing anyone's ever told me in my life."

He sighed in relief. "Thank God," he said, throwing his head back against the trunk of the three. "I thought I'd screwed something up already. I'm sure Fitz or Charley has told you by now, but I'm not really one for relationships. I don't make friends well, and you're probably my first serious girlfriend."

"You're my first serious boyfriend," she countered, then thought for a moment. "Oh, wait. No, you're my second."

"Second?" he echoed, frowning and look displeased. "What exactly is the story behind that?"

Not wanting to answer his question, she closed the distance between them and kissed him soundly on the mouth, her tongue slipped into his mouth, causing him to moan loudly. Both his hands grasped her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible. She moaned when one of his hands slipped beneath her shirt, and she reached up to tangle her fingers in his dark hair.

Pulling away and panting heavily, he told her, "You're going to have to tell me that story some day."

"That's fine with me," she told him, pressing her lips lightly to his again. She then moved her lips down his throat and gently kissed his Adam's apple. His grip on her waist tightened.

"You're going to be the death of me, Elizabeth," he gasped.

"So I've been told," she replied, looking back up at him with a crooked grin.

"I'm going to get you tell me that story," he promised her solemnly, his blue eyes glinting mischievously.

"One day," she agreed, kissing his lips again. "One day."


	14. Confessions and Appearances

A/N: Don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. I really appreciate all the reviews, so please keep it up! Enjoy. **

**Sorry I haven't updated lately, but I just got back from a torturous week long vacation in Florida. **

Chapter 14

"So do you really want to hear the story?"

Elizabeth and Will were sitting on the steps in the pool around midnight one Friday night, about a week before the start of the school year.

"Yes, I've told you this a thousand times over the past two weeks, Lizzy!" he said in exasperation, running a hand anxiously through his dark hair. Despite what he told her, he was still unsure of whether or not he really wanted to hear the story of her first serious boyfriend.

"Well, keep your voice down, Will, we're not even supposed to be here," she said, casting her eyes around anxiously, more out of nervousness about telling him than of being caught.

"Oh, please," he snorted doubtfully. "You've never had scruples about sneaking in here before. Besides, what will they do to us? It's our neighborhood, and we're not skinny dipping or something." She looked down at herself, blushing. She _was_ wearing a swimsuit, but it was a bikini, something she was not used to. Somehow, she had let Jane talk her into wearing it. Will was wearing swimming trunks, and was shirtless, exposing his sculpted chest to her. "You just don't want to tell me," he accused, poking her playfully on her bare shoulder.

She looked up at him, frowning, and rubbed her arms with her hands. "Will, really," she said softly. "This is really serious."

He too frowned upon hearing this and said, "Sorry, Liz, I thought you were just embarrassed. I'll be serious now. But just… tell me. You know you can tell me anything."

"I know," she muttered, looking down at her feet through the water of the pool again. "So a few months into freshman year, I started dating this guy named Dennis."

"Yeah," Will said, nodding his head, "go on."

"We dated through all of freshman year, which is pretty serious, you know, for freshmen," she said, and he nodded again, urging her on as best as he could. "Last summer… I broke up with him, because I just didn't like him anymore."

"Is that it?" he asked, sounding hopeful. However, he couldn't fight off the feeling that there was something she hadn't told him yet.

She shook her head, and continued. "He got really pissed off. That night, he snuck into the room I shared with Jane. Jane was in Pennsylvania visiting our aunt and uncle, kind of like she did this summer, so I was alone. But Chris was spending the week at our house because his parents were on vacation in Florida, and he was sleeping in our living room. Anyway, Dennis snuck in. He… Will…"

"What is it, Elizabeth?" Will said softly, taking her hands in his. "It's okay. Just tell me."

She looked at him, her blue eyes shining sadly in the darkness. "He tried to rape me," she whispered, her lower lip quivering.

"What?" he gaped at her, gripping her hands even tighter and lowering his voice.

"I fought him off easily enough," she told him, shrugging. "I started screaming Chris's name as soon as I got his hands off my mouth and Chris came bursting into the room. He helped me kick Dennis's ass, and he went and got my father. Dennis was sent to a juvenile delinquent center, and then to military school in Ohio."

Will screwed his eyes shut, trying hard not to think about someone trying to rape her, the girl he loved. He leaned his forehead against hers, reveling in the fact that she was with him, and she was safe and unharmed. "It's nothing, Will," she lied, trying to reassure him.

"Bullshit," he said. "This is most certainly not nothing, Lizzy." He pulled away a bit, looking at her seriously. "I am glad you do karate, though. I must say, I always found it attractive, but I have never been more grateful for that fact than in this moment." She allowed a small smile to spread across her face. "And I'm glad Chris was there to help you. I don't think I've ever been more grateful to him either. I'll have to start favoring him over Jake."

"Actually, Jake had a lot to do with the getting Dennis in a juvy center part of the whole ordeal," Lizzy told him. "His dad is a lawyer, and Jake convinced him to take the case on for free."

"Wow," Will mused, "I guess I'll have to favor both of them for the rest of their lives."

"Don't tell them that," she advised. "They'll never let you forget it." He allowed himself a chuckle before he resumed his serious attitude.

"But really, Elizabeth… this isn't nothing. This is serious," he told her gravely.

"Oh, I know," she replied, "but you were going to obsess over it, I could tell. If I didn't diffuse the obsession bomb right then and there, you'd be hunting down Dennis right now."

He allowed a wry smile to cross his face. "Well, you sure as hell are right about that." The smile faded as he squeezed her hands, saying, "Thank you for telling me."

"It was no big deal," she shrugged. "You had a right to know."

"Well, that may be true," he admitted, "but I know how hard it had to be for you to talk about it."

"Really?" she said, cocking her head at him and raising a single black eyebrow. "And how do you figure that, Mr. Darcy?"

"Well," he said, "you're a strong person, but you feel compelled to keep these things bottled up inside of you, because that's how you keep up the appearance of being strong. Especially stuff like this. You think that if you tell someone, it's showing weakness. And you don't like to do that. So telling me that must've been hard for you."

She met his gaze, her blue eyes shining and her mouth twisting into a crooked smile. "You know me too well, Will," she told him, reaching up with a hand to stroke his cheek.

He smiled back, saying, "Is that something bad?"

"No," she said slowly, shaking her head. "No, it's not at all." She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his briefly, before pulling away and scooting closer to him, snuggling her head against the warmth of his chest. "I like it that way."

He wrapped his arms around her, saying, "Good. Because I like knowing everything about you, since I practically bore my soul to you in that letter back at Rosings."

"Oh, jeez," she muttered, pressing a kiss to his chest, causing him to shiver, despite the heat. "Don't remind me of that. I was so unbelievably cruel to you."

"Don't feel bad," he admonished her, pressing a kiss to her wet hair. "Like I've told you a million times before, I deserved it. Can you please stop apologizing?"

"Fine, fine," she said, shaking her head against his chest. "I just… ugh. To think we could've been together all that time, if I wasn't such a prejudiced ass."

"Your prejudice was well-intentioned, even if it was misguided," he told her gently. "I don't blame you for thinking I was an ass. I _was_ one, when you first met me."

"But you changed," she said. "For me." She sighed, leaning her head on his chest again, and he stroked her hair. "I love you."

"I love you too, Elizabeth."

TSTSTSTSTSTSTSTSTS

"First day of school."

Elizabeth grinned widely when she heard his voice and slammed her locker door shut. Will was leaning against the row of lockers, grinning widely at her. "Excited?" she asked dryly, letting him take her hand in his.

He shrugged. "Sure, let's go with that."

"You're real enthusiastic," she laughed. "I for one, am very excited. One year closer to graduating and getting the hell away from my family."

"Are you really that unhappy?" he asked with a frown.

"Don't get me wrong, Will, I love my family," she replied quickly, "but I can't stand living with my mother. My sisters are okay, even Lydia and Kitty, as of late. Lydia's seemed to mature, ever since the whole Wickham ordeal."

"Well, that's good," he said, sighing with relief. "What class do you have first period?"

"Broadcast journalism," she replied, with a quick glance at her schedule. "You?"

"Theology," he grimaced. "Second period?"

"Here, just take my schedule and compare it to yours." She handed him her schedule as he kept walking her to her homeroom.

Eyes wandering up and down the piece of paper she had handed to him, he grinned delightedly. They both had second period honors trig, third period AP European history, fourth period honors chemistry, fifth period lunch, and eighth period AP biology. "We have four classes together, plus lunch," he told her, handing her schedule back to her.

Her blue eyes grew wide with excitement. "Really?" she squeaked.

"Second, third, fourth, and eighth periods," he listed, "and fifth period lunch."

"Great," she chirped. She stopped walking, realizing that they were standing in front of her homeroom door. She turned to face him, saying, "Well, this is my stop."

"I'll see you next period," he said softly.

"See you next period." She stood on her tip toes and was just barely able to reach his lips with hers, giving him a quick peck. As she backed into her classroom, he grinned back at her, deliriously happy.

What?

He was in love.

So sue him.

Grinning to herself, she took a seat at the back of the classroom, hoping to be somewhat inconspicuous. Though she was a straight A student, she hated sitting at the front of the classroom, and besides, she always sat in the back.

Just then, a dazed looking Chris stumbled into the classroom. He spotted her and made his bumbling way over to her, taking the desk on her right. "Damn, man," she chuckled, "what happened to _you_?"

"I forgot to set my alarm," he yawned, "so my mom woke me up about twenty minutes ago, threw me into the shower, and drove me over here like a madwoman. God, I hate the first day of school."

"Get used to it, buddy," she told him, smiling. "At least we have the same homeroom this year. Lemme see your schedule."

He handed her the sheet of paper, and she examined it for a few moments. Then she cracked into a grin. "Hey!" she said brightly. "I have first, fifth, sixth, and seventh periods with you."

"Sweet," he said, grinning through his sleepiness. "I remember last year, we didn't have any classes together… sucked. I was stuck with Jake."

"Sorry," she shrugged. Seeing Jake stumbled in through the door, she muttered, "Speak of the devil."

Jake spotted them and smiled, waving at Lizzy and Chris. He made his way toward them and took the seat to Lizzy's left. "Hey, guys," he said brightly. "Schedules?"

"Got it all up here," Lizzy told him, tapping her head with her finger. "Let me see yours."

She scanned his, then announced, "You have second, third, and fourth periods with Chris, and sixth and seventh periods with both of us."

"Yes!" he said, pumping his fist in the air. "Sweet, first day of junior year."

She eyed him critically, ignoring the thump from behind her that signified Chris's head hitting his desk. "You had sugar this morning, didn't you?" she asked knowingly.

"Maybe," he said, sounding abashed. "Okay, fine. I had Cap'n Crunch."

"Jakers!" she scolded, doing her best to be patronizing. "You know what that shit does to you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said. Looking past her at the sleeping figure that was Chris, he queried, "Rough morning?"

"Something like that," she said. "He forgot to set his alarm, his mom woke him up about twenty minutes ago, body slammed him into the shower, and drove him here like she was trying to win the Indy 500." Shrugging, she added, "But that's just the impression I got."

He chuckled, but then he glanced at the door and the grin faded from his face. "Holy shit," he muttered, his hands clenching into angry fists and his eyes tightening.

"What?" she asked, looking alarmed. When she glanced at the doorway, she saw what had alerted him.

Dennis was back.


	15. Confrontation Time

A/N: To answer your question, I have two reasons why a vacation in Florida could be torture

**A/N: To answer your question, I have two reasons why a vacation in Florida could be torture. A) my family. B) I got a cold. In Orlando! In July!! Anyway, don't own, don't sue. Reviews are always appreciated! **

Chapter 15

Dennis cracked a crooked grin when he spotted Elizabeth and headed over to her.

Both jumping up from their seats, Chris and Jake stood in front of her desk, closing ranks. "Piss off, Dennis," Chris hissed, his hands clenching into fists. "Get the hell out of here."

"Who let your ass out of military school?" Jake asked. "Because I'm going to do my best to get it thrown back in there."

"Got let out for good behavior," he replied, still grinning stupidly. "Can I see my girlfriend?"

Before either Chris or Jake could reply, Elizabeth wedged her way between them, and let her past reluctantly. She had her arms folded and her blue eyes were alight with a fire that neither of them had ever seen before, despite all the years of knowing her. "I'm not your damn girlfriend, Dennis," she said, doing her best to keep her voice even and calm. "I broke up with you the summer before sophomore year. Then you tried to rape me, if you don't recall."

Dennis's gray eyes sparkled as he ruffled his blonde hair. "It doesn't count as rape if you consent, dearie."

"I didn't consent, you son of a bitch," she spat through gritted teeth. "Now like Chris said, piss off."

"You know you still want me, Liz Bear," he said, grinning at her affectionately.

"Don't," she growled, raising her fists, "call me that." Dennis flinched slightly at the sight of her clenched hands, still remembering the last time she had a reason to beat him up. "And second of all, I have a boyfriend, whom I happen to be very much in love with."

At this, he looked shocked. "You have a boyfriend?"

"Don't sound so surprised, dickhead," Jake said, stepping in front of Lizzy again. "You've had your chance to talk to her; now go away before I kick your nuts so hard, you'll never be able to have children."

Grumbling under his breath, Dennis stalked off, taking a seat in the front of the classroom. Trembling slightly, Lizzy slumped down into her chair and buried her head on her desk. "What a shitty first day of school," she muttered.

A hand reached out to pat her back. Jake. "It'll be fine, Lizzy," he murmured softly.

"Yeah, you could kick his ass in his sleep," Chris said, patting her on the head like a dog. "And even if you couldn't, do you think Jake and I would let him touch you? Not to mention Will."

At this, Lizzy shot straight up in her chair, groaning, "Ah, shit, Will!"

"You did tell him about Dennis, right?" Jake asked urgently, his eyes growing wide.

"Yeah, I did," she confirmed, nodding her head. "But he's going to have an aneurism when I tell him that Dennis is back." Remembering Dennis's, she snorted, "Good behavior my ass."

"Are you going to tell him?" Chris asked, looking at her with concern. "Jake and I can keep quiet, if you want us to."

"No, I'll tell him," she said, shaking her head. "Even if I don't, he'll figure it out eventually, so there's no point in keeping it from him. I'll tell him in second period."

Elizabeth later regretted her words, for second period came faster than she expected. She walked into her honors trig classroom and found that Will was already there. When he spotted her, he waved and patted the desk next to him, indicating that it was for her. Managing to flash him a weak smile, she made her way over to him and dumped her backpack on the floor. "How was homeroom and first period?" he asked, taking her hands in his and kissing them.

"It was… okay," she said, sounding uncertain even to her own ears. "Chris and Jake and I are all in the same homeroom."

"That's great," he beamed at her. "Um… your friend Charlotte is in my homeroom. As well as Hugo Collins."

Wrinkling her nose, she said, "That sounds terrible."

"It wasn't," he said. "At least, until they started making out."

"Ew," she said, covering her eyes. Then she grew somber. "Will… there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it, Elizabeth?" he asked, his blue eyes growing wide with worry as he leaned closer to her. "What's wrong?"

She sucked in a deep breath, before saying quickly, "Dennis is back."

His eyes tightened, and when he spoke, his voice was a low growl. "What the hell? How did he get out of military school?"

"Good behavior, he says," she snorted, "but most likely his rich-ass father paid his way out of there."

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked, leaning even closer to her so that he could press a kiss to her dark hair.

She shrugged. "I should be fine. I already got over the original confrontation, and Chris and Jake were there, so it wasn't so bad." Smiling, she added, "He seemed very shocked when I told him I had a boyfriend."

Will grinned, saying, "Really? You told him that?"

"Well, it's true," she replied, shrugging again. "Besides, I figured it'd be one way to get him off my back." Shuddering, she explained, "Apparently, he's under the delusion that he can sweet talk me straight into his bed."

Will's grip on her hands tightened so much that it was nearly painful. "I'll kill the no good son of a bitch."

"Relax," she told him, leaning forward to plant a soft kiss on his lips. He relaxed at her touch, and when she cupped his cheek with her hand, he placed his own on top of him, leaning into her hand. "I've got you, Chris, and Jake to protect me. Besides, I can beat the living shit out of him myself."

Will sighed, leaning back in his seat. "Once again, I'm extremely grateful for the fact that you do karate."

Laughing, she leaned back into her seat, feeling much better about the situation than she had a few hours ago.

TSTSTSTSTSTSTS

Elizabeth didn't have to see Dennis again until lunch, when he spotted her having lunch with Will and Chris. He smiled broadly at her and made his way over to her.

Her blue eyes grew wide; the naïve part of her had almost dared to believe that he had decided to leave her alone after hearing that she had a boyfriend. Her lips curled into a smirk as she rested her head on Will's broad shoulder. Will smiled down at her and pressed his lips to her hair. She stared at Dennis in defiance, as if daring him to come over to their table.

Frowning, he accepted her challenge.

"Shit," she muttered, catching Chris and Will's attention.

"What is it, Liz?" Chris asked, his mouth full of food.

"First off, don't talk with your mouth full," she advised him. "Second, the shit-head is making his way over here."

"Damn, he has this lunch period?" Chris said, eyeing the approaching Dennis.

"Is that him?" Will asked, his voice a low snarl.

Elizabeth lifted her head from his shoulder so that she could look at him. "Calm down, Fitzwilliam," she murmured, soft enough for only him to hear.

He nodded, but his blue eyes were still trained on Dennis as he finished making his way over to them. Will grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly but gently, almost as if trying to promise that he would protect her.

Chris reached for her other hand that was resting on the table, and squeezed it in a friendly manner.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at them.

Boys.

"Elizabeth," Dennis said, setting his tray down on the table, "we meet again."

"Piss off, dickhead," Chris growled, and he pushed Dennis's tray off of the table, and it fell to the floor with a clatter.

Dennis looked down at his food on the floor, and then back up at Chris, looking amused. "You're going to pay for that, Christopher."

"Don't threaten me," Chris warned.

"I'm not," Dennis said, shrugging. "I'm just saying, I want you to pay for a new lunch for me."

"He's not going to pay," Elizabeth told him in a singsong voice. "Chris here hates you ever more than I do, if at all possible."

"Aw, but Chris, I thought we were getting along so well," Dennis simpered.

"I never liked you, Smith," Chris said, addressing Dennis by his last name. "Even when Elizabeth was dating you back in freshman year, I only tolerated you for her sake. Since you tried to rape her, I absolutely abhor you. And I swear, if you don't leave this table right now, I will shove my foot so far up my ass you'll need surgery to remove the wedgie it'll give you."

"Feisty little devil, isn't he?" Dennis said, pretending to joke around with Will. Then he cocked his head at him. "Who are you, by the way?"

"I'm Will Darcy," Will said, glaring daggers at Dennis. "I'm Elizabeth's boyfriend."

Dennis's gray eyes clouded with anger. "Boyfriend, huh? You know what you're in for, Darcy? Her family's a hell hole, trust me, I would know."

"First of all, I know you know, because Elizabeth told me all about you," Will snarled. "Second of all, I am aware that her family isn't always what's considered proper, but I love her all the same. And for her sake, I love them."

Elizabeth flashed him an appreciative glance, then glared at Dennis. "Now you've met my boyfriend, are you happy?" she said. "Please leave, before I'm forced to gouge your eyes out with a spork." She held up her plastic spork threateningly, which, normally, would've been a joke coming from her, but there was something about the way she glared hatefully at him that betrayed her true emotions.

Pure rage.

"You may have a boyfriend now, Lizzy, but I know you'd still leave him for me," Dennis said cockily, but his eyes showed his insecurity.

Practically growling, she stood from her seat, despite Will and Chris's protests and came to stand in front of Dennis, her fists held up, poised on the balls of her feet, as if ready to attack. "Listen, Dennis _Francis_ Smith," she snarled. "I don't know how hard you got hit in the head in military school, but there's something really jacked up about you if you believe that I would ever want to date you again. Will is my boyfriend now, and I'm happy with him. I love him, okay? I never felt that for you. _I love Will_. Moving on, I also love my family and my friend, especially Jake and Chris." She glanced back at Chris, adding, "In a completely platonic and brotherly way."

"Didn't doubt that," Chris nodded, taking a sip of his chocolate milk. "Please, continue. I'm enjoying your verbal diarrhea."

Rolling her eyes at him, she turned back to Dennis and continued, "So you stay the hell away from Will, my family, and my friends. Or I swear to God, Dennis, I'll find the nearest baseball bat, use it to bash your brain, or lack thereof, in, and then shove it up your ass."

"Right," he said darkly, finally seeming to get her point and backing away. "Point taken. Have a nice life, Dennis."

"Can't wish the same to you," she muttered as she resumed her seat next to Will. Exhaling, she said, "Well that was better than I thought it was going to be."

"Seriously?" Will asked, sighing as he kissed her on the cheek. "That was torture for me."

"Thanks for letting me do most of the talking, though," Lizzy said, smiling gratefully at him. "I know that was hard for you."

"Well, if I had said much more, I would've ended up being arrested for assault, so I figured it was best not to," he said, grinning.

"Good, I'm proud of you," she said, hooking a finger under his chin and pulling his face to hers so that she could kiss him softly. He moaned in appreciation, pressing his lips to hers once more.

"Ugh," Chris groaned, covering his eyes and scowling, "get a room!"


	16. Dresses and Seduction

A/N: I own nothing; Jane Austen is the genius

**A/N: I own nothing; Jane Austen is the genius. Thanks for all the reviews, and please keep it up. This chapter is pretty much just shameless fluff, to make up for next chapter. Enjoy. **

Chapter 16

"I'm gonna kick the shit outta you, Chris!"

Lizzy and Chris exchanged playful threats as they sparred together during their traditional Saturday morning workout. Will watched anxiously from the seats reserved for relatives and friends of the martial arts students, his brows knitted together in concern. Though he knew that Lizzy was a black belt and could take care of herself, and that Chris would never dream of hurting her, it still worried him to see them fighting like this.

Jake, who was watching Chris and Lizzy while waiting for his turn to spar the loser, glanced over at Will, and upon seeing the worried look on his face, made his way over to him. "Will, you're not worried are you?" he asked, chuckling and taking his mouthpiece out of his mouth.

"I know I shouldn't be," Will replied, "but I still am. I just… don't like to see her being kicked and punched, is all."

"Chris would never hurt her, you know that, right?" Jake said, just for clarification. "And neither would I."

"Oh, I know that," Will told him, nodding his head. "I just don't like it. But I know she can take care of herself."

"You'll get used to it eventually," Jake told him. "I mean, this is your first time watching her work out, yeah?" When Will nodded, he continued, "So you're taking it pretty well for a newcomer. I remember the first time her sister Janey watched her, she nearly blew a capillary, she was so anxious."

Will chuckled, having the image of a very worried Jane pop into his mind's eye.

"Ha! I win!" Elizabeth cried suddenly from across the studio, holding both her arms up in victory.

"Sorry, Will. A sparring match is calling my name," Jake said. Then he winked at him, adding, "But Lizzy will be over here shortly, I'm sure."

Will flashed him a rueful grin, telling him, "I hope Chris kicks your ass for that comment."

Jake merely shook his head before walking across the carpet to Chris, where they bowed to each other and began their sparring match.

Panting and smiling broadly, Lizzy, just as Jake predicted, made her way over to Will, taking off her foam sparring helmet and taking out her mouthpiece. "So? What do you think?" she chirped happily, wiping sweat off of her brow.

"I think… I don't like the idea of you being kicked and punched," he replied, repeating to her what he had told Jake. "But I know you can take of yourself, and I trust Chris and Jake with your safekeeping. So I'll live through this."

She cracked a broad grin. "Good to hear," she chirped. Tying her long hair back into a ponytail, she moaned, "I'm sure I look a right mess, all sweaty and shit."

"I think you look beautiful," he told her quietly, looking down. At that moment, his shoes seemed to be the most interesting thing in the karate studio. He had spoken so quietly that Elizabeth, at first, was unsure of whether or not he actually said it, but the faint blush creeping up on his fair cheeks told her that he had.

"Will, that's sweet," she replied, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. "But I really am all sweaty and gross and I'm sure I stink. You don't want to get too close to me."

"I don't care," he muttered, reaching over to wrap an arm around her and pressing a kiss into her sweaty hair.

She chuckled and relaxed into his chest, before a sudden idea struck her. "Hey!" she said brightly, lifting her head from his chest. "Do you want to spar me?"

"What?" he asked, looking at her, shocked. "No. No way. I-I wouldn't be able to fight _you_, Elizabeth. Besides, even I could bring myself to do so, I'd still get the shit kicked out of me. No thanks, I'll pass."

"Come _on_," she pleaded. "Will, you have to learn not to see me as helpless. _Please, Fitzwilliam_."

"Ooh, the full name card," he moaned, slapping a hand over his eyes. "I can't believe you pulled that one on me."

"So is that a 'yes'?" she asked hopefully, looking up at him, her blue eyes wide and hopeful.

"Sure," he replied, getting the feeling he would regret it later, when his ego was bruised, "why the hell not?"

A few minutes later, Chris and Jake had rustled up an extra set of sparring gear for Will, and he was standing awkwardly on the mat, waiting for Lizzy to finish sparring Jake. Once she was done, she bowed to Jake and made her way over to Will, grinning at him with her mouthpiece in her mouth. "Are you ready for this?" she asked, her words slightly slurred due to her mouthpiece.

"Hell, no," he replied around his own. They bowed to each other, and then they both assumed a guarding stance.

They circled each other for a few moments, before Lizzy jumped in, landing a firm punch in his side and puling back, so that the punch he had aimed at her head missed.

Chris cracked a grin at Will, seeing his helpless, defeated look. "You're in for the ringer, Darcy."

TSTSTSTSTSTSTSTSTS

"Humor me, Elizabeth," Will begged, standing by the rack of dresses and taking her hands in his. "It's the least you could do, after you humiliated me like that this morning."

"You didn't have to agree!" she protested, trying to pull away from him, but smiling broadly all the same.

"You were practically begging me," he told her, his grasp on her hands tightening. "Come on, just let me buy it for you."

"But for _what_, Will?" she asked in exasperation, glancing at the beautiful dress. Once she arrived home, she had taken a shower, only to have Jane beg for her and Will to accompany her and Charley to the mall. Will and Elizabeth had, eventually, ditched Jane and Charley, and the blue dress had caught Elizabeth's eye when they were walking past the store. She had tried it on, only to find that it fit her _perfectly_ and that she looked even more gorgeous in it, according to Will. Then she glanced at the price tag, and almost fainted from shock. The dress cost 150, which wasn't exactly the kind of money she had burning a hole in her pockets. "What do I need a dress like that for?"

"Do you need a reason to have a dress like that?" he countered. "Elizabeth, you looked absolutely beautiful in it, and I _know_ you want it. Just let me buy it for you."

"Will, I… I couldn't let you," she said, staring down at the floor. "It's far too much."

"Lizzy," he said, his voice crossing the boundary into whiny territory now. "Just let me buy it for you. I want to, and, as bad as it sounds, it's not that much money to me. And you're most definitely worth it."

"But what _for_, Will?" she persisted, still wondering if there was some way to talk him out of buying it for her.

"For homecoming," he finally replied, freeing one of her hands so that he could run his hand through his dark hair. "Come on, Lizzy."

"All right, all right already," she said, nodding her hand and handing him the dress. "You can buy it for me."

He smiled broadly at her, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to her lips, taking the hanger with the dress from her. "Thanks, Elizabeth."

"No, Will. _Thank_ you."

TSTSTSTSTS

Will sat on Elizabeth's bed, watching her intently as she hung the dress up carefully in her closet. "Thanks again, Will," she replied, finally closing her closet doors and sitting next to him on her bed, resting her head on his broad shoulder. "It's really beautiful."

"Not without you in it," he told her honestly, feeling himself blush as he did so.

"Nice," she said, chuckling into his shoulder. "You're getting at sweet talking each and every day, William."

"It's true, Lizzy," he told her, turning his head to press a kiss to her hair. He turned his whole body so that he was facing her, and she was directly in front of him, slowly pulling herself onto his lap.

She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his, her distracting lips so close…

"I love you, Will," she whispered softly, her lips barely brushing his.

"I love you too," he murmured, snaking his arms around her waist and drawing her to him, her lips falling across his. Her mouth was soft and warm against his, and she took control of the kiss, parting his lips with her tongue. He moaned in surprise, one hand pressing into the small of her back, and the other reaching under her shirt, his fingers splaying against her warm flesh.

Moaning again, he used his overwhelming weight to push her back down onto the mattress, supporting his own weight with an arm on either side of her. Wanting to close the gap between them, Elizabeth wrapped her legs around his waist, tightening them and jerking him against her. He fell roughly on top of her and muttered, "Sorry." He began to trail kisses down her neck, nipping and sucking at her flesh as he went.

She threw her head back, moaning his name in a breathy tone. "Will."

Her hands wandered from the back of his head, down his chest and to his waist, tugging at the hem of his shirt. With some of his help, she pulled it over his head and flung it to the side unceremoniously. She pushed down on his shoulder blades, pushing his large, bare chest against her still fully clothed one. With some difficulty, he pulled his mouth from hers, and his lips were everywhere. Her forehead, her ears, her eyelids, her nose, the corners of her mouth, her neck, her collarbone…

Finally, she seized his head, grabbing the hair at the back of his neck and forcing him to kiss her on the lips again. He moaned, feeling a tightening in his lower regions. He knew that if he didn't stop now, he'd do something he'd regret, or worse, force _her_ into something _she'd_ regret. He pulled away from her, panting heavily and relocated to the other side of the bed, hugging his knees to his chest in an effort to hide his arousal. "Will?" she said, her voice shaking and uncertain as her breath came in shallow gasps. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Elizabeth, you know I love you," he replied, his voice low and husky. "But I can't ask you to have sex with me. I have all these ridiculous ideas about what's proper, and that most certainly is not. Not until after we're married, that is."

She looked up at him, her blue eyes wide in surprise. "Since when are we getting married?"

He blushed a deep red color, not having intended to say that aloud. "Um… well, no definite plans were set… I mean… I… aw, damn it."

"It's okay, Will," she said, laughing at his embarrassment. "I can see us getting married someday, too."

It was his turn to look surprised, looking up at her with his mouth hanging open. He finally gained the sense to close his mouth and said, "Really?"

She nodded, scooting closer to him. Then she paused, and asked, "Are you going to be okay if I sit next to you? Or do you need to go take a cold shower?"

He thought her tone was rather cold, until he looked at her face and saw the small smirk splayed across her lips. He shook his head, saying, "I'll be fine, Elizabeth. Are _you_ going to be okay? You seemed rather… _enthralled_."

She glared at him but scooted next to him nonetheless, leaning heavily against his side. "I love you, Will."

"I love you, too," he replied, kissing her hair sweetly.

She sighed. "You and your ridiculous ideas about what's proper."


	17. I Don't Like Mondays

A/N: Don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. You all are probably going to hate me for this chapter, but trust me. :) I know what I'm doing. Anyway, reviews are always appreciated! **

Chapter 17

So far, Will Darcy's day had been utterly amazing. He managed to wake up on time for once, because he had remembered to set his alarm the night before. As soon as he was finished getting dressed for school, Elizabeth had burst into his room, offering him a ride to school, which he happily accepted. He had gotten two tests back before lunch, and he had made A's on both of them.

In short, he was feeling lucky that day.

In sharp contrast to his great day, Elizabeth was having a seriously bad day. _She _had woken up late, and just barely made it over to the Bingley's house in time to offer Will a ride. When she finally entered her homeroom, she discovered that both Chris and Jake were absent. Upon text messaging Chris, she was told that they had both gotten food poisoning from the new sushi bar in town.

In short, she was feeling shitty that day.

"Hey," he said in greeting, smiling when Elizabeth sat across from him at their customary table during their lunch period. He looked for Chris, but he couldn't find him anywhere. "Where's Chris?"

"Sick," she explained, frowning. "He sent me a text message this morning. Said he's come down with a pretty bad stomach virus. Jake got it too, because they both went to that new sushi bar. I told them I'd visit both of them right after school. Wanna come with?"

"Sure," Will said, reaching across the table and taking her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah," she said, seeming distracted. He scowled at her, sensing that she was lying. "I've just had kind of a shitty day."

"I'm sorry," he told her. "If it's any consolation, I've had a great day so far."

"Good, I'm glad," she said, flashing him a small smile. "It just seems like this day can't get any worse."

"Aw," he said sympathetically, knowing the feeling. "It'll get better Lizzy; I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she advised him, running a hand through her hair wearily.

"Things always get better at the end," he told her softly, taking both her hands in his, "if it's not getting better, it's not the end."

She offered him a small smile, saying, "Thanks for the effort, Will. But it's just been a really bad day, and I just want it to _end_."

Smiling slightly, he replied, "Well, it's already fifth period. Not much longer to go, eh?"

She smiled back and nodded her head ever so slightly. Satisfied that he had at least cheered her up a tiny bit, he began to eat, forking, or rather, sporking, food into his mouth. Not having much of an appetite, Elizabeth watched him eat surreptitiously, while picking at her own food. He was certainly handsome, there was no doubt about it. Nearly the moment he walked into the school on the first day, numerous girls had begun to stare at him and flocked around him. It was rather like feeding time at the zoo. However, Will had done nothing but scowl at them all until Elizabeth arrived on the scene, taking his hand in hers and pulling him away from the crowds of girls, leading him to the guidance counselor's office so he could pick up his schedule and his locker assignment and the standard "welcome" speech.

Strangely enough, that wasn't why she loved him.

She loved him for everything he was and everything he wasn't. He was often tacit, mysterious, and occasionally rude.

And she loved it.

He wasn't outgoing, flirty, or pretentious.

And she loved it.

There was something about him, something in the way he loved her unconditionally, something in the way he felt the extreme need to protect her and buy her things, something in the way he refused to sleep with her before marriage that she loved, that made her love him even more.

She sighed, taking a sip from her can of Vault. _I'm nowhere near equipped to handle this_, she thought to herself. What she felt for Will was stronger than any emotion she had ever experienced before, and, if it hadn't been for Will's love for her, it would've scared her senseless. For all that her mother and father had tried to teach her about human relationships, this was something that no one could ever prepare her for. No one could ever prepare her for a love so strong that she would be willing to give up her life for him without batting an eyelash. In her head, it was a given, not something to be considered or thought about.

Oddly enough, she knew that if his happiness required it, she'd be willing to remove herself from his life. If she truly believed that he would be better off or happier without her, she'd be willing to leave him alone. All she wanted was what was best for him, even if it meant breaking her own heart in the process. She genuinely hoped it would never come to that.

He finally seemed to sense her gaze, and looked up at her. "What?" he asked, sounding slightly alarmed. "Do I have something on my face or something?"

"No," she snorted, shaking her head and smiling. "No, Will, it's nothing."

He smiled in relief and went back to eating his food. When she continued to stare at him, he looked up again, and asked, "Elizabeth? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "yeah, everything's great, Will."

"You seem… distracted," he told her, still looking concerned.

"I am," she admitted, finally sporking some of her food into her mouth. "By you."

"Me?" he asked, looking alarmed as his blue eyes grew wide as saucers. "What did I do, Lizzy? I'll fix it, I swear."

She laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "No, Will. It's a good thing."

He smiled and then glanced at his watch. "Oh, shit. I forgot, Lizzy, I was going to ask you to help me with my homework. Can you wait here a moment while I go get it?"

"Sure," she said, nodding. "I'll try to finish eating so I can concentrate on helping you."

He smiled and stood, saying, "I'll be right back." He took his food with him, throwing it away on his way to his locker.

She continued to pick at her food, making a sincere effort to eat it, but failing miserably. She sighed, giving up. She had no appetite and there was no way she was going to make it through the rest of her food. Sighing again, she got up and threw away her food, deciding to follow Will to his locker. She could catch up with him there and help him with his homework.

Walking down the hallway, she noticed Dennis at his locker, fiddling around with something in there. "What the hell is he doing?" she muttered quietly to herself. Why wasn't he in the cafeteria, eating lunch with everyone else?

Deciding to find out what he was up to, she ducked around the corner, watching him carefully. He turned around suddenly, causing her to jump back quickly. Casting his eyes wildly about the otherwise empty hallway, he tucked something into the back waistband of his jeans, draping his baggy t-shirt over it. He began heading down the hallway in the same direction she had been going before, and she crept behind him quietly, still wondering what he was up to. What had he taken out of his locker?

Dennis finally noticed the slapping sound of his shoelaces hitting the tile floor of the hallway and, grumbling, bent down to retie his shoe. The hem of his shirt rode up, and Elizabeth was able to catch a glimpse of what he had tucked into his jeans.

A gun.

Due to her obsession with action films, she was able to recognize the type of gun it was. It was a Glock 7, a porcelain gun that wouldn't show up on any metal detectors. It was extremely expensive, but she figured that his rich father probably had several of them lying around the house. Not only was his father rich, he was also paranoid.

She didn't know exactly what Dennis was up to, but she knew that whatever it was, it couldn't be go. Not wanting to blow her cover, she pulled out her cell phone and sent a text message to Chris, who she knew always had his phone beside him. She asked him to call the school and tell them that Dennis had a gun and was heading toward the science department. She could only hope that he was awake, and that he hadn't fallen asleep or let his phone die or something. She wished she could do something more, like tackle him to the ground and beat the living shit out of him, but he would just pull the gun on her, and who would that help?

She still lurked behind Dennis, following him as silently as she could. When she finally realized where he was headed, it all clicked, and a cold wave of realization hit her like a ton of rocks.

_He was headed for Will's locker_.

Peeking around the corner, she could see them both. Dennis casually making his way down the hall, almost as if he didn't have a gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans. Will was rummaging around in his messy locker, clearly still looking for the homework he needed help with. "Darcy," Dennis greeted, his tone cold and calculated.

Will looked up, surprised and startled. "Smith," he countered, glaring at the boy. "What the hell do you want?"

Dennis shrugged. "I just want to talk."

Once Dennis was past the entrance to the next connecting hallway, she scurried to it, watching the exchanged from around the corner. Will saw her and opened his mouth as if to address her, but she put a finger to her lips, signaling him to keep quiet. He glared at her, his glare clearly telling her to get the hell out of there, but she shook her head stubbornly. "What are you looking at, Darcy?" Dennis asked, following Will's gaze to where Lizzy was standing. She quickly ducked back behind the corner and out of sight.

"Nothing," Will quickly answered. "I was just avoiding looking at you."

"Oh, very clever," Dennis snorted. "Darcy, you know, I think you and I got off on the wrong foot."

"Oh, really?" Will said, raising a single brow at him. "How so?"

"Oh, you know, the whole ex-boyfriend, current boyfriend dealie," Dennis shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant.

"And the whole fact that you tried to rape her?" Will added angrily, clenching his hands into fists. Elizabeth gulped, hoping Will wouldn't do anything to piss Dennis off; he wasn't aware of what kind of danger he was in.

"That kind of puts a damper on things," Dennis admitted. "But I was hoping we could sort all this out, you know, man to man and such."

"Really?" Will said doubtfully, not believing Dennis for a single second. "How do you propose we go about that?"

Will couldn't see the subtle movement Dennis was making, slowly reaching for the gun tucked into the waistband of his Levis, but Elizabeth could. Dennis was just pulling the barrel free from and his jeans and bringing it around in front of him, his finger already on the trigger, when she launched herself in between the two boys. Having already pulled the trigger, Dennis had no time to react and fired twice.

The two shots rang out in the hallway like a siren as teacher began poking their heads out of classrooms to see what all the commotion was about.

The first shot hit Elizabeth just under her rib cage on her right side, and the second shot hit her just below it. White hot pain pierced through her, banishing all rational thought as she fell to the ground, clutching at her bleeding wounds.

"NO!"

Will's shout of despair mixed with fury rang out through the hallway. He dove to Elizabeth's side, sliding into the blood that was pooling around her. "Well, I meant those two bullets for you, but this is just as well," Dennis said, looking amused.

Will grasped her hand tightly and pressed a kiss to her sweaty forehead, muttering, "You'll pull through, Lizzy. I love you." Then he glared up at Dennis hatefully. He only uttered one syllable. "Why?"

Dennis shrugged, looking untroubled despite the dying girl before him. "I don't like Mondays."


	18. Hospital Visits

A/N: I still own nothing

**A/N: I still own nothing. Unfortunately, no one picked up on my reference to the Boomtown Rats. "I Don't Like Mondays" is a song by the Boomtown Rats, and the song is actually about a school shooting. Anyway, please review. Enjoy! **

Chapter 18

Will watched the steady rise and fall of Elizabeth's chest, grasping her hand tightly in his, despite the fact that she was still asleep. She had just come out of surgery to remove the bullets about an hour ago, and Mrs. Bingely, who had performed Elizabeth's surgery, had snuck him into the recovery room to be with her, even though no one was typically allowed into the recovery room that wasn't hospital staff. According to Mrs. Bingely, the surgery had gone extremely well. She had gotten both the bullets out, and neither of them had damaged any vital organs. According to her, Elizabeth was going to be just fine.

Still, Will watched her anxiously as she slept, hoping she would wake up soon. He had come so close to losing her, something that he had never even dreamt of. When he saw her jump in front of him and when he heard the gun firing twice, he had assumed the worse. And when he saw the blood pooling around her seemingly lifeless form, he couldn't help but think that she was… God forbid, dead. What if she died, and he never got the chance to tell her that he loved her again? What if she died, and he never got to grow old with her? What if she died, and he never got the chance to have sex with her? He pressed his lips into a thin line, forcing himself to think about something else, something other than that, and pushing all the 'what if' questions out of his head. He rested his forehead against the railing of her hospital bed, sighing loudly and closing his blue eyes lazily.

"Will?" a hoarse voice whispered. He lifted his head from the railing and was shocked to find her blue eyes were open, and she was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Elizabeth!" he cried happily, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "You're okay!"

"You didn't think I would be?" she questioned, cocking her head at him.

"I don't know," he whispered, screwing his eyes shut determinedly. "There was so much blood."

"I'll be fine," she said, wincing slightly as she shifted in her bed.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked, noting that she was pretty alert for someone who supposedly just woke up from being put under anesthesia.

"About twenty minutes ago," she replied. "I was pretending to be asleep the rest of the time."

"Why didn't you just open your eyes?" he asked, glaring slightly at her.

She shrugged. "I was tired. I wanted time to rest." Seeing the look on his face, she hastily added, "But I'm fine now."

He continued to stare at her worriedly, but he was secretly longing to press his lips to hers, needing reassurance that she was really there, and that this wasn't some sort of torturous hallucination. As if reading his mind, she sighed, "Damn it, Will, just kiss me already."

"But you just came out of surgery," he pointed out, biting his lip anxiously. "I don't want to hurt you."

She rolled her eyes. "It's fine, Will. I'll be fine. I feel worse when I'm not touching you."

He blushed and glanced back at the door, to be sure that it was closed. Upon seeing that it was, he slowly, carefully climbed over the railing of her hospital bed, propping himself up on his arms, careful to support his own weight. Slowly, he bent his head so that his mouth fell across hers.

She responded to him immediately, her lips moving against his. Taking charge, she parted his lips with her tongue, and he moaned into her mouth in pleasure. She slowly lifted her hands, testing out their responses after the anesthesia, and was pleased to find that she had pretty good control over her limbs. She grasped the hair at the back of his neck with her hands, before sliding them down to his lower back and under his shirt.

When he felt her skin against his, he lost whatever control he had been perilously clinging to. After coming so close to losing her, he needed to be with her. He needed to feel her bare skin against his.

_He needed to be inside of her_.

Again he felt the tightening in his lower regions, but instead of stopping, he went with it, lowering himself slowly on top of her. She moaned loudly, partly out of pleasure and partly out of pain, but she ignored it and kept kissing him, trailing her lips down the side of his neck. That is, until she felt the hard length of his erection pressing into her thigh.

Her blue eyes growing wide, she pulled her lips from his neck, placing her hands on both of his shoulders and pushing him away from her, firmly but gently, struggling to sit upright in the bed at the same time. "Elizabeth?" he said, looking at her in concern. "What is it? I thought you wanted this."

"Will," she said slowly, unsure of how to say this to him, "I love you, and I know you love me. But I can't let you_ love_ me in a hospital bed."

"You're right," he groaned, leaning forward and resting his forehead on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I just… when Dennis shot you, I thought you were dead."

She offered him an understanding smile, and said, "I'm sorry, Will. I can't even begin to imagine how I would've reacted if our roles were reversed." Sighing and running a hand through her hair, she continued, "Besides, even if we weren't in a hospital bed, I know you'd regret having sex afterwards, even if I wouldn't. You said yourself that you have all these ridiculous ideas about what's proper, and I know you, Will. You'd never forgive yourself if you, er… deflowered me."

He lifted his head from her shoulder to see her flashing him a rueful grin. "You're right, Elizabeth," he muttered, running a hand through his own hair. "Of course, you're right."

TSTSTSTSTSTS

When Elizabeth's parents left her hospital room to go get dinner, Will stayed behind with her, holding her hand in one of his. In his other hand he held the remote for the television, and he was flipping through channels, looking for something on television worth watching. "Thanks for staying with me," she told him quietly, her blue eyes trained on the television.

"No problem," he replied, shrugging. "Hey, do you mind if I stay the night?"

"No, I don't mind," she said, grinning broadly at him. "But where will you sleep?"

"I'll just sleep in this chair," he said, referring to the large armchair he was currently seated in.

She opened her mouth to protest, but at that exact moment, Chris and Jake stumbled into her room. "Elizabeth!" Chris cried, running to her and throwing his arms around her. Jake followed suit, and both of them were hugging her tightly.

She shot a look at Will, yelping, "Help me!"

He laughed, and said, "Chris? Jake? She's a little sore, having just had surgery a few hours ago and all."

"Sorry," Jake said, as both he and Chris pulled themselves away from her. "My mother just came home about twenty minutes ago and told me the news. I literally ran over to Chris's house and got his mom to give us both a ride over here."

"I'll kill that no good son a bitch," Chris growled, and everyone else in the room assumed he was referring to Dennis. "I mean, I was going to after he raped you, but then Jake's dad got him thrown in military school, so I figured you were avenged. But now… I'm going to cut him into tiny pieces, feed him to piranha, bury him, dig him up again, and then burn him alive."

"I hate to break your bubble, Chris," Lizzy said, stifling her laughter, "but I think he'll be dead by then. Burning him alive won't really be an option."

"Details, details," Chris said, waving his hand in the air.

"I thought you two were sick," Will said, glancing at both Jake and Chris suspiciously.

"Oh, we are," Jake replied. "But we're not contagious, and there was no way in hell we could just sit at home and wait when we heard. God, Lizzy, I always knew Dennis was a dickhead, but I never expected _this_ from him."

"Neither did I," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "You learn something new everyday, I guess."

"But how did he get a gun past the school's metal detectors?" Chris mused aloud, stroking his chin.

"Oh, that's easy enough," Elizabeth told him. "I caught a glimpse of the gun. It was a Glock 7."

The three boys looked at her, clearly still confused. Will blinked at her, and said, "Excuse me, it was a what?"

"A Glock 7," she repeated, clearly amused by their ignorance. "It's a porcelain gun, made in Germany. It wouldn't show up on any metal detectors, and it's really expensive."

"Then how'd he get it?" Will asked.

"Oh, Dennis's father is filthy stinking rich," Jake answered, scowling. "Not to mention a paranoid bastard."

"So…" Chris said, sitting at the foot of Lizzy's bed and scrutinizing her. "Are you really okay, Lizzy?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said, nodding her head. "Charley's mom performed the surgery, and she said I'll be fine, right, Will?" She glanced at Will, who nodded his head. She cocked her head at Chris, and asked, "Are _you_ okay, Chris?"

"I'm fine," he muttered, staring at his shoes. "It's just… well, when Jake told me, I froze. Completely. That was the scariest moment of my life, to be honest with you. Hearing that you had been shot. I was scared shitless. Honestly? I thought I was going to lose my best friend."

"Aw, Chris," she said softly, looking at him with a few tears sparkling in her blue eyes. "I'm sorry. I would've called you sooner if I hadn't been, you know, in surgery."

"I know," he said, nodding and finally looking up at her, offering her a small smile. "I just thought I'd let you know."

TSTSTSTS

"Mom, Dad- it's all right. Go home and sleep there. The two of you need all the sleep you can get."

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet stood uncertainly by Lizzy's bedside, debating whether they should follow their daughter's advice and go home or spend the night at the hospital. "Oh, I don't know, Lizzy," Mrs. Bennet said fretfully. "I don't want you to be all alone in a hospital the whole night."

"She won't be, Mrs. Bennet," Will spoke up, standing up from his seated position in the armchair. "Alone, that is. I'm staying the night with her."

"Oh, well, in that case," Mrs. Bennet said, seeming satisfied, but Mr. Bennet only looked more alarmed.

Seeing the look on her father's face, Elizabeth quickly said, "Relax, Dad. It's a _hospital_."

"All right, Lizzy, dear," he consent, albeit somewhat grudgingly. Her parents bid her goodbye and good night, before leaving her room.

As soon as they were out of earshot and eyesight, Will bent down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "You look tired," he whispered, his lips suddenly at her ear.

"I am," she admitted, her voice a mere whisper. "Being shot can certainly wear a person out."  
He chuckled and sat down in the armchair again, settling himself into it as if he was getting ready to sleep. "Good night, Elizabeth," he said.

"You still think you're sleeping in that chair, don't you?" she said, sniggering.

"Yes, well," he said, looking at her, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion, "where else do I have to sleep?"

"Right here," she said, shifting over to one side of the bed and patting the space next to her.

"Lizzy, I couldn't," he protested, but she cut him off.

"Will, I'm going to be honest with you," she said firmly, "I'm not going to be able to sleep at all tonight if you're not beside me."

Grinning goofily at her, he stood from the chair and climbed into the bed next to her, wrapping his strong arms around her tightly, drawing her into his chest. "I love you, Elizabeth."

As she nestled her head into his chest, she murmured back, "I love you, too, Will."

And as she drifted off into sleep, despite the fact that she had been shot that day, everything felt perfect, for once in her life.


	19. Homecomings and Late Night Happenings

A/N: So if you haven't checked my profile, my Mac needs to be sent in for repairs

**A/N: So if you haven't checked my profile, my Mac needs to be sent in for repairs. It will be sent in sometime this week, and the repairs take about a week. So hopefully I'll have it back soon. I do, however, have access to a word processing program and the internet, but I will be updating a little less than usual. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, and please keep it up! As usual, I own nothing. TwilightStarLaughter requested longer chapters, so I'll try to make this one longer than usual. Here's a much needed chapter of pure fluff. Enjoy. :) **

Chapter 19

After about two weeks in the hospital, Elizabeth was released, but sentenced to a week more of bed rest in order to recovery fully from her bullet wounds. "Lizzy, it's so good to have you home!" Jane said almost as soon as her sister was through the front door, linking her arm in hers and helping her to their bedroom. "How are you feeling?"

"Great," Elizabeth said, grinning widely from ear to ear. "It's good to be home. As much as I know I say I can't wait to go to college, I really missed this place while I was in the hospital."

Jane clicked her tongue and looked at Lizzy knowingly, saying, "You missed your books, didn't you?"

"No," Elizabeth said elusively, chuckling as she gently laid herself down onto the bed. "I missed you, Mary, Lydia, and Kitty."

"That's a load of bullshit," Jane laughed. "You missed being able to spend quality time with Will."

"Okay, you got me there."

"I've got it!"

Elizabeth was paging through her copy of "Sense and Sensibility" when the doorbell rang. "Thanks, Janey!" she called back to her sister as she ran from the living room where she was watching television to the front door. Elizabeth and Jane were the only two home; Lydia and Kitty were sleeping over at a friend's house, and Mary and their parents had gone out to pick up dinner to celebrate Elizabeth's homecoming.

Jane opened the door and found Will standing on their front doorstep. "Hi, Jane," he said happily. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she replied, smiling softly at him. "Let me guess. You're here to see my sister?"

"Yes, that was the plan," he chuckled, nodding.

"I suppose I could let you in," she said, feigning doubt. However, she flashed him a wide grin to let him know that it was all in jest and stepped aside to let him into the house.

"Thanks, Jane," he said. "Oh, by the way, Charley wanted to remind you of your date tomorrow night."

Jane blushed and muttered, "Thanks." With that, she closed the front door and locked it again, before retreating back into the living room.

Will made his way to the room that he knew Elizabeth shared with Jane. Pausing in the doorway, he rapped on the door with his knuckles. "Who is it?" Elizabeth said, not bothering to look up from her book.

"It's me," Will said, unable to keep a goofy grin from spreading across his handsome face when Elizabeth's face lit up upon hearing his voice.

Keeping her blue eyes trained on his, she dog-eared the page and tossed the book aside, saying, "Thanks for coming over, Will. Sit here." She patted the patch of bed next to her, indicating that he should sit there.

He obliged, scooting as close to her as he could get and draping his arm across her shoulders. "How do you feel?" he asked, looking down at her with concern.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" she chuckled, shaking her head.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you were shot about two weeks ago," he suggested, as if it was a novel idea that was just occurring to him. "Or, you know, maybe the world just hates you."

"Thanks," she grumbled, rolling her blue eyes affectionately at him. "That means a lot to me coming from my boyfriend."

"Chill out," he advised her, chuckling and kissing her on the cheek. "You know I love you."

"I love you, too," she grinned.

"So you didn't answer my question," he said. "How do you feel?"

"Great," she replied, grinning even wider. "It feels good to be home, but I'm not exactly looking forward to spending a whole week at home. Especially while you, Jane, Charley, Jake, and Chris are all going to be school."

"I'm sorry, Liz," he said, frowning at her. "I'd get out of it, if I could, but I don't think the school would like that very much. But I'll be over every day after school to spend time with you and bring your homework."

"Sounds good," she said. Chuckling, she added, "Even the homework part. I don't even want to _think_ about how far behind I am by now."

"You'll catch up soon enough," he grinned at her. Then, as he remembered something, his grin faded slowly. "Elizabeth… I heard about what happened to Dennis."

"What?" she asked sharply, looking up at him with curious blue eyes. "What'd you hear?"

"His dad admitted that Dennis is suffering from serious mental conditions," Will said somberly, running his free hand through his hair while his other hand gently squeezed her shoulder. "He was suffering from bipolar disorder, which is what drove him to plan a school shooting in the first place. He's going to get off a little easier because of that."

Elizabeth sighed, and said, "Yeah, that sounds fair. I mean, what he did was obviously still wrong, but he shouldn't be punished as badly as someone who wasn't bipolar."

"Right," Will said, nodding his head. The he continued, "However, Mr. Smith refused to pay for Dennis's drugs, so he hasn't been on them since he got out of military school. That makes him negligent, and he's being charged."

"Okay, sounds good," she said, managing a small smile. "Any other news?"

"One more thing. Dennis pled guilty to the charges of attempted murder, so none of us will have to be witnesses," he replied, flashing her a small grin.

"That's good," she said, sounding relieved as she rested her head on his broad shoulder. "I wasn't looking forward to that at all."

"Neither was I, to be honest with you," he told her. Smiling, he repositioned his body, angling himself so that he was facing her, and she did the same. "How are you?" he asked softly, reaching up with one hand to cup her cheek.

She leaned into that hand, still faintly smiling. "I'm fine," she whispered back, "and you?"

"I'm great," he replied, his smile growing slightly wider. "I'm really glad you're home, though. It's really nice to be able to just walk along the sidewalk for a few minutes to see you, as opposed to driving fifteen minutes."

"Yeah, that's an added bonus," she said, grinning widely at him now. "Be sure to tell Dr. Bingley I said thanks again."

"Oh, that reminds me!" he cried, slapping a hand to his forehead, his blue eyes growing wide. "Mr. and Dr. Bingley wanted me to invite you to dinner at our house next week, after you go back to school. They want to celebrate your recovery. Jane's invited, too, as Charley's girlfriend."

"We'll be there," she said almost immediately. Sighing happily, she said, "I can't wait to meet Dr. Bingley."

"You met her in the hospital," he pointed out, "you know, when she cut you up and pulled the bullets out? And when she checked up on you everyday?"

"Well, I know that," she said, rolling her eyes. "But I can't wait to meet her when I'm _not_ lying in a hospital bed." Looking at him, she added, "It's my dream to become a surgeon, you know."

"I know," he told her. "You mentioned it to me one time."

Grinning at how he remembered every little thing she ever said to him, she said, "I'm not really sure how I became so attracted to it. I guess… somewhere along the years, I just fell in love with the idea of having my arms elbow-deep in someone's guts." He chuckled, and she returned her attention to him again, saying, "I don't think you've told me what your dream job is."

"Oh," he said simply, "I want to be a defense lawyer."

"That's cool," she said, beaming at him. "I'm sure you'd make a good lawyer."

He beamed at her praise, and said, "Thanks, Elizabeth. I'm sure _you'll_ make a great surgeon some day."

"Are… Caroline and Louisa going to be there? At the dinner?" she asked suddenly, looking slightly alarmed.

"Well, yes," he said, grimacing. "But they're just annoying, they're actually fairly harmless." Then he brightened, and added, "But Gee is flying in from New York to stay with us for a few weeks, so she'll be there as well!"

"That's great!" she replied, her smile growing even wider. "I haven't been able to talk her much since I left New York. Is she just coming to visit or is it a special occasion?"

"Just to visit," Will lied, not wanting to talk about the real reason Gee was coming. He hated lying to her, but he knew that if he told her the reason Georgiana was flying all the way in from New York to be with him, she'd want to talk about it, and he wasn't ready to. Not just yet.

"Oh," she said, eyeing him doubtfully. "Okay." He was afraid that she was going to question him further, but she let the subject drop, saying, "So how's school been?"

"Eh," he said noncommittally, shrugging. "Honestly? It's been boring without you. Chris and Jake have been good company, but neither of them can replace you."

She beamed brightly at him at this, and said, "What about Charley and Jane?"

"Seniors," he said, frowning slightly. "We don't have any of the same classes or the same lunch periods."

"Oh," she said, thinking hard. Fighting the urge to laugh, she suggested lamely, "Caroline and Louisa?"

He glared at her as best as he could, though his chest was shaking in his effort to suppress his laughter. "You're kidding… right?" he said.

"What _is_ it with Caroline's obsession with you? I remember the first time I went over to your house, it was blatantly obvious that she was throwing herself at you at every possible opportunity," she said, unable to stifle her giggling at the memory.

"Caroline's always had this thing for me," he said, making a big show of grimacing and rolling his eyes. "Ever since the first time I went over to Charley's house. Frankly, it's creepy."

"I'll say," she muttered, still laughing. "Although, I must admit, it is quite comical."

Will glared at her, saying, "You weren't the one who found a pack of condoms in your bed."

She burst out into hysterical laughter, and, after a few moments of making a half-hearted effort to glare at her, he joined her in her hysterics. "I wish I could've seen the look on your face," she gasped through her laughter, her eyes watering.

"You should've seen_ Charley's_ face!" he told her, his chest still shaking with his laughter. "He was absolutely horrified!"

"I'll bet," Elizabeth said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. She sucked in several deep breaths, saying, "Okay, I need to calm down now before I pee in my pants."

He chuckled at that, but followed suit, trying to get himself to stop laughing. After a few moments, he was sufficiently calm, and he looked at her seriously, saying, "Can we talk about what happened in the hospital?"

"What part of it?" she queried. "I was in there for two weeks, and you were there nearly the whole time. A lot of stuff happened."

"I mean… the first day you were there. Right after you woke up, more specifically," he said.

"Oh," she said, her eyes growing wide with realization. "You mean the part where you lost control and you were going to have sex with me in a hospital bed?"

He flushed a deep red color and ran a hand through his hair, muttering, "Yeah, that part."

"Okay, so what about it?" she said, looking up at him expectantly.

"Just that… it was a mistake," he said slowly. "I mean, I love you, and I _want_ to have sex with you, but it just… it goes against everything I believe in. It's just not considered proper, and I hope you understand."

"Of course I do, Will," she told him softly. "And I mean, I want it to, and what I said about not regretting it back there in the hospital… I was sort of lying. I would've regretted it. So don't feel bad okay?" She reached up with one hand, stroking his cheek and feeling his slight stubble.

"Okay," he murmured. He bent his head down and pressed his lips to hers softly, feeling her arms wrap around his neck possessively. He moaned when he felt her tongue run along his bottom lip, and he opened his mouth to her, her intoxicating scent flooding his senses. His hands grasped her waist, gently pulling her toward him. Despite the fact that she constantly reassured him that the pain was almost completely gone, he always felt the need to be extremely careful with her, as if she were a porcelain doll. He pulled away from her, and breathed heavily, "God, I love you." He lavished kisses all over her face, on her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids, her mouth, her ears… he was everywhere.

"I love you, too," she murmured back, her blue eyes fluttering open as she searched for his mouth with hers.

"There's something I want to tell you…"

Just then, the front door burst open, and Mrs. Bennet announced, "We're home, dearies!"

"Shit, my parents are home!" Lizzy said, looking at Will. "They want this to be a family dinner, so you better go… sorry."

"It's okay, I understand," he replied, smiling at her as he stood to leave.

"We can finish our conversation later, okay?" she said, to show that she hadn't forgotten that he had something to tell her.

He nodded and said, "Sure. Bye, Elizabeth. I love you."

"Bye, Will. I love you, too."

TSTSTSTSTS

Elizabeth was trying to sleep around half past eleven when she first heard the noise.

TAP.

She sat up in her bed, looking around her room wildly for the source of the noise. She was briefly grateful for the fact that Jane was still watching television in the living room; Jane had a tendency to freak out about the smallest things, especially when it was dark.

TAP.

There it was again! It sounded like it was coming from her left, so she stared in that direction, waiting for it to sound again.

TAP.

With a start, she realized that a finger was tapping against her window. She debated between going to the window and seeing who it was or going to get her father. Finally, she decided to go with the former, figuring if she just peered through the window, she could fight off an intruder if it was necessary. Climbing out of bed, she made her way over to the window and pressed her forehead against the glass, peering through the window to spot the person who had been tapping against her window.

It was Will.

Grinning goofily, she slid the bottom half of the window up and stuck her head out, hissing, "What the hell are you doing, Will?"

"This," he whispered back, his voice just as low as she seized her face with his hands, pressing his lips to her. He pulled back after a few blissful moments, saying, "I came so we could finish our conversation."

"You're sneaking into my room?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. When he nodded, she crinkled her nose and said, "That's kinky."

He blushed and glared at her saying, "It's not like that! I just wanted to talk to you and I didn't want to wait until after school tomorrow!"

Rolling her eyes at him, she replied, "I know, William. Jeez, take a joke, will you? Come on, get in." She stepped back and he put his hands on either side of the bottom sill of the window, hauling himself into her room quite easily. He sat down on her bed and she followed suit, leaning against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Aren't you going to close that?" he asked, glancing at the window.

"Nah," she said, "it's your emergency escape plan. If someone comes in and asks why it's open, I'll just tell them that I felt hot."

"Okay," he agreed, then he glanced at the door. "What if Jane comes in?"

"You can hide under the bed," she said, after a few moments of thought. "And just wait for her to fall asleep to sneak back. Trust me, Will. Once she's asleep, Jane sleeps like a freaking rock." He chuckled, allowing himself to smile slightly. "So what did you want to tell me earlier?"

"Every summer, the Bingley family goes on a vacation to another country. We didn't go this summer because we were just getting settled into the new house. But this coming summer, we're going to France," he said softly, biting his lip.

"France? That's amazing!" she gushed. "You're so lucky. I'm unbelievably jealous right now."

He chuckled and said, "The only thing is… we're there for two months."

She gaped at him and moaned, "Two months?! Will, I'm supposed to be without you for two whole months this coming summer?"

"Shhh," he said urgently, pressing a finger to her lips, "you're getting pretty loud."

"Sorry," she murmured, lowering her voice again, and taking his finger in her hands, pressing a kiss to it softly, "but I wasn't prepared for you to say _that_." She looked up at him, her blue eyes wide. "I'm going to miss you, Will."

"You don't have to miss me," he said, and she noticed a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Of course I'll miss you," she said, pouting and jutting out her lower lip.

"No, you won't have to," he said, "because I'm inviting you to come with us."

She gaped at him, saying, "Oh, Will, I'd love to, but I couldn't intrude on the Bingleys like that-"

He cut her off, saying, "Every year they tell Charley and me to bring other friends, but we never have. But Charley's inviting Jane to come to France, and I'm inviting you. Gee is coming as well, and, since I knew you'd feel bad if Chris and Jake didn't come, I cleared it with the Bingleys, and they can come as well."

"Will, I… wow," she breathed, looking shocked. "Just… wow. I'd love to, and I'm sure our parents would let us, but… Chris and Jake? You don't have to, Will."

He flashed her a look, saying, "Oh, yes, I do. I owe them, remember?"

She chuckled, and said, "True. Plus they'd probably be pissed off if you stole me from them for two whole months."

"Damn right," he told her with a grin. "They'd probably beat the shit out of me."

"Are you sure it's alright with the Bingleys, though?" she asked anxiously. "I really wouldn't want to intrude on their hospitality."

He rolled his eyes at her and explained, "Elizabeth, they're owners in a timeshare, and they're renting us a _huge_ villa that will have more than enough room for all of us. And don't forget, the Bingleys are filthy stinking rich, so this is pocket change to them."

"I guess being a world renowned surgeon pays off," she chuckled. Thinking about it, she bit her lip and said, "All right, Will. I'd love to go to France with you."

**A/N: The rest of the chapters of this story are going to take place while they're on the vacation in France. I'm not sure how many there will be, and it'll pretty much just be fluff and drama. But what's wrong with that? :p **

**R & R please! **


	20. Ocean Front Fights and Disturbed Dinners

A/N: As for why Georgiana was really coming to visit, everything will be explained, don't worry

**A/N: As for why Georgiana was really coming to visit, everything will be explained, don't worry. Anyway, I still don't own anything, and I love reviews! Enjoy! **

Chapter 20

_All the small things _

_Truth care _

_Truth brings _

_I'll take one lift _

_Your ride, best trick _

_Always I know _

_You'll be at my show_

_Watching, waiting _

_Commiserating _

Will hummed along to "All the Small Things" by Blink 182 on his iPod, his blue eyes trained on the small, oval-shaped window next to him on the airplane. Elizabeth had fallen asleep shortly after they took off, her head nestled on his broad shoulder. When she had fallen asleep she had her iPod on, and right now it was blasting some rock song he didn't recognize.

"'All the Small Things' by Blink 182?" she said suddenly, surprising him by lifting her head up from his shoulder.

"Yeah," he said, looking at her with wide blue eyes. "How'd you hear me? Your iPod is absolutely ear-blasting."

"One of the earphones must've fallen out while I was asleep," she grinned, pointing to one dangling earphone.

"What are you listening to then?" he asked. "I've been wondering that for the past few minutes."

"Oh," she said simply, offering him an earphone. "I'm listening to 'Infected' by Bad Religion."

Looking at her doubtfully, he removed one of his own earphones and put hers in, listening to the song.

_You and me_

_Have a disease _

_You infect me _

_You infect me _

"I like it," he said, looking surprised as he handed the earphone back to her. "Could you burn it onto a CD for me?"

"Sure," she smiled at him. Yawning, she asked, "How long was I asleep?"

"A couple hours," he replied, watching her as she turned her iPod off.

"And how much time is left on this flight?" she said, looking at him curiously.

"About six more hours," he told her with a grimace.

She groaned. "I hate long flights."

"Me too," he replied, pressing a soft kiss to her hair. "But I can deal with it, if I'm with you."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "There you go again with the ass-kissing, Will."

TSTSTSTSTS

"Oh, it's beautiful here!" Lizzy gushed to Jane, throwing her suitcase down on the bed unceremoniously and sprinting as quickly as she could to the large window.

"It is," Jane said, her voice sounding awed. "It's so unbelievably pretty here."

"Yeah," Elizabeth sighed. "The beach is beautiful. Do you want to go with me?"

"To the beach?" Jane laughed. "Now? I'm ridiculously tired, Elizabeth. I'm sorry, but I really want to take a nap."

"It's okay, Janey," she said, zipping open her suitcase and quickly locating and extracting her bathing suit. "I'll get Will to come with me."

"I'm sure he'll come quite willingly," Jane chuckled, eyeing the bikini her sister was planning on wearing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked sharply, eyeing her sister suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," Jane chirped, climbing into her bed. "It just means that I think Will's eager to see you."

TSTSTSTSTSTS

"Elizabeth?"

Will's deep baritone snapped Elizabeth out of her reverie as she sat on the beach, hugging her knees to her chest, staring out at the ocean. She looked up at him, beaming brightly, and patted the patch of sand next to her, indicating that he should sit there.

He obliged and she leaned against him, sighing, "It's so beautiful out here."

"It is," he murmured in agreement.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, she asked, "How'd you find me out here? I was going to ask you to come with me, but when I went to your room, Charley told me that you were taking a shower."

"When I got out, I went to _your_ room, looking for you," he replied with a chuckle. "I accidentally woke up Jane, who was rather confused, because she said that you told her you were looking for me to go to the beach with you."

"Poor Jane," she mused aloud with a faint smile. "Time changes always hit her hard."

"Have you ever been to France before?" he asked as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, her lips brushing against his warm skin.

"No," she murmured against his skin, and he inhaled sharply, feeling her teeth graze his neck. "I've never even been to Europe before. The farthest I've been form home is California."

"Well, then," he said, his voice sounding satisfied. "I'm glad I'm with you on your first trip out of the country. We'll have to take a trip to Paris for about a week sometime while we're here, so you can see all the landmarks."

She looked up at him, an excited expression spreading across her face. "I've always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower," she told him happily. "And the Louvre."

"Then it's settled," he said, smiling broadly at her. "We're definitely going to go. I'm sure Charley will want to take Jane as well, so the four of us can go together. Oh, and Chris and Jake, so that makes six of us."

"What about your sister?" she asked. "And Caroline and Louisa? And Mr. and Dr. Bingley?"

"They've all been to France many times," he said, brushing off her concern. "Gee's looking forward to spending two months simply relaxing, since she has a quite a busy schedule at her boarding school. Caroline and Louisa claim to be bored with France."

"Well, I'm sure Caroline will want to go along as soon as she learns that you're going," Elizabeth said, flashing him a mischievous grin.

"Which is why we'll make travel plans for six before we tell her," he said, grinning back at her. "We'll book all the tickets for the Louvre and such beforehand, and we'll only purchase six of each."

"Well, aren't you clever?" Elizabeth teased, pushing him on the shoulder lightly. She looked at the ocean longingly, something that did not go unnoticed by Will.

"Oh, you want to play in the waves, do you?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Yes," she said, nodding her head. "That was my plan all along, but when I got out here… I don't know, the mood to just sit and think struck me. Now the need to play around has returned."

He stood and offered her his hand, which she accepted, and he gently hauled her to her feet. "Well, let's not delay your playing any longer then," he said, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.

They walked hand in hand to the exact spot where the ocean met the beach and paused there, Will looking at Lizzy uncertainly. She rolled her eyes affectionately at him and took a few more steps into the ocean, so that she was knee-deep in water. He followed her, seeming more relaxed now.

They stopped when the water was up to Lizzy's chest and Will's abdomen, and a wave was coming toward them. "Are you ready for this?" Will asked, squeezing her hand in his.

"I was born ready," she said, eyeing the wave happily.

"Don't let go," he cautioned her as the wave came closer.

"Will, I'll be fine," she chided him, rolling her eyes. "I'm not a child."

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the save crashed down on them. Will had a death grip on her hand as the force of the water threatened to tear the two of them apart. When Elizabeth finally surfaced and saw that Will had as well, she glared at him, saying, "William, I am _not_ a child."

"I just don't want you to get hurt," he replied, looking off into the distance. Changing the subject, he pointed out, "Look, there's another wave coming."

When the wave crashed over them this time, Elizabeth purposefully let her hand slip from Will's, swimming underwater in order to stay relatively close to him. She held her breath as long as possible, and she could hear Will frantically calling her name above water.

Needing air in order to laugh, she surfaced, taking a deep breath before chuckling. "Elizabeth!" he said, swimming over to her.

"Relax, Will, I'm fine," she told him as he wrapped his strong arms around her, crushing her body to his. "I knew what I was doing, and I was just joking around."

"You don't understand," he told her harshly, pulling away from her so that he could glare at her. "I didn't know you were playing around, I thought the wave actually swept you away. God, Elizabeth, I was so frightened."

She glared back at him, saying, "Well, you don't need to be. I'm quite capable of taking care of myself."

He snorted in doubt, but leaned in to kiss her. She pushed him away, swimming for the shore. "Don't try to kiss me when I'm mad at you, Fitzwilliam."

TSTSTSTSTS

Will was the last to arrive at the dinner table that night, and Elizabeth was slightly disgruntled when he took the seat next to her. They hadn't spoken since their argument at the beach, and she was still trying to calm herself down before they did. Even she admitted that she had a terrible temper, and that she had the tendency to say things she didn't mean whenever she was angry. That was the last thing she wanted to do to Will, so she was waiting until her head was clear to talk to him.

She noticed him staring at her, almost as if begging her to talk to him, but she merely glared at him and shook her head. "Ah, there you are, Will," Dr. Bingley said, setting the large platter of chicken in the middle of the table. "Now we can eat."

The meal began in silence, which was unusual whenever Elizabeth was at the table. Jane, who noticed the tensions between her sister and Will, flashed Lizzy a curious glance. Elizabeth's only response was to shake her head.

Caroline and Louisa seemed to notice the tension too, and Caroline looked pleased.

In fact, the tension between the two of them escaped the notice of none at the table.

Gee looked worriedly at her brother, wondering what he had done to make Lizzy angry.

Chris and Jake flashed each other worried glances, wondering what they should do.

Mr. and Dr. Bingley exchanged curious, but amused, glances with each other.

"So," Jake said awkwardly, clearing his throat, "this is exciting."

"Yeah, everyone's really talkative tonight," Chris said sarcastically, managing to make Elizabeth chuckle slightly.

Caroline, on the other hand, seemed to take it upon herself to get right to the heart of the matter. "William," she purred, "what ever is the matter? There's only one time I've seen you this quiet."

Everyone seemed to freeze. Will finally replied gruffly, "And when was that, Caroline?"

Dr. Bingley seemed to sense that something was going to go wrong soon, and stood, saying, "Oh, I better go check on the broccoli. Stephen, come with me." Dr. and Mr. Bingley left the room, leaving all the adolescents together.

"At the dinner we had to celebrate Elizabeth's recovery," Caroline replied, flashing a sickly sweet smile in Elizabeth's direction. "You were so quiet, I almost thought that something was wrong."

Gee, Will, Lizzy, Charley, and Jane all froze, gaping at Caroline incredulously. Will threw down his fork and stormed out of the room, Gee hot on his heels. "Caroline, I can_not_ believe you just said that," Charley said, looking angry for once.

Glaring murderously at Caroline, Elizabeth spat, "I can."

"And what is that supposed to mean, Miss Bennet?" Caroline asked, looking annoyed.

"It means that I know you're a bitch," Elizabeth told her balefully. Jane squeaked, feeling unnerved by the angry atmosphere of the room. "How could you say something like that?"

"Something like what?" Caroline asked, feigning innocence.

"Don't play stupid," Elizabeth said. "Oh, wait. You can't be 'playing' because we all know you're actually a dumbass."

With that, she turned on her heel and fled from the room, wondering where Will had gone. Despite the fact that she had been angry with him because of their argument at the beach, she knew she had to put her petty feelings aside when he really needed her. And now he really needed her. Luckily, it didn't take long to find him.

He was in the room he was sharing with Charley, sitting on his bed, his back to the doorway, his sister sitting next to him. When Elizabeth rapped her knuckles on the door softly, Gee turned around and saw her. "Elizabeth's here now," she whispered to her older brother. "I'm going to go."

Will nodded his head slowly, and Gee stood up, flashing Elizabeth what she hoped was a reassuring smile on her way out.

Elizabeth slowly made her way over to Will, sitting on the bed next to him. She looked at his face, and she was alarmed, but not surprised, to see a few tears streaming down his handsome face. "Hey," she said softly, taking his face in her hands and kissing each cheek before pecking him on the lips.

"I thought you were mad at me," he muttered.

"I was," she replied, softly, wiping tears from his face with her hands. "But that's not important anymore. You were just worried about me, and even if that is sometimes annoying, our argument was stupid. Besides, how can I be mad at you when you really need me right now?" He leaned against her, bending his head so that he could bury his face in her neck. She rubbed his back comfortingly, saying, "I'm so sorry Caroline said that, Will."

"It's not your fault," he murmured against her skin.

"I know you miss your parents, Fitzwilliam," she said softly, trying to be as comforting as possible.

See, the reason Gee flew in from New York at the time of the dinner at the Bingleys' house was because it was the anniversary of their parents' deaths, and the siblings made it a point to be there for each other during such a trying time. Will had put off telling Elizabeth about it, because it wasn't something he enjoyed talking about, and he had managed to avoid it until the night of the dinner, when he had been so quiet, that afterwards, a very concerned Lizzy had demanded to know the truth.

"I can't believe she actually said that," he muttered, and she felt a few of his tears sliding down her own skin. "I don't know if Caroline actually forgot what day it was, or if she was just doing that to spite me."

"I don't know if you've noticed," Lizzy whispered, pressing a kiss to his hair, "but Caroline can be a bitch, at times."

"Oh, I've noticed," he said, "but I never expected it to be directed at me. But ever since you and I started dating, she has been meaner toward me."

"That's because she's bitter," Elizabeth told him. Sighing, she said, "Are you going to be okay?"

He nodded into her shoulder, then lifted his head, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. "God, I can't believe this is the second time you've seen me cry," he said, managing to chuckle slightly. Then he sobered, asking, "Am I forgiven for earlier? At the beach?"

"You most certainly are," she told him with a small smile. "Even if it extremely annoying at times, I know you're just trying to look out for me."

"I know I can be overbearing with that," he murmured in agreement, looking down at his hands in his lap whilst he spoke. "I'm sorry, Lizzy."

"It's all right," she muttered, taking his hands in hers.

"Ever since Dennis shot you… I've just been so scared," he admitted, gathering her up into his arms and sitting her down on his lap. "I've been so scared of losing you… it's the worst possible thing I could imagine."

She buried her face in his chest, smiling against his shirt and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're not going to lose me, Will," she whispered, gazing up at him.

"How do you know?" he replied, his voice low and hoarse. His grip on her tightened, as he said, "The thought… it just scares me so much."

"You don't think the thought of losing you scares me, too?" she asked. "It scares the damn shit out of me, Will. I just… I know you can take care of yourself."

"But you didn't see me lying on the hallway floor, wounded and bleeding," he said, a pained expression crossing his face.

"True enough," she whispered, leaning forward and kissing him on the mouth. Pulling away, she asked, "Do you want to go back to dinner?"

He shook his head, saying, "I'm not ready to share you with anyone else right now. Besides, I was never really hungry to begin with."

She smiled brightly at him, saying, "I don't want to go back either. I just want to be with you. Plus, I lost my appetite when Caroline opened her fat-ass mouth."

He chuckled, laying back against the bed, taking Elizabeth with her. She settled herself on top of him, her limbs sprawled across his body.

His skin burned wherever hers met his, and he smiled down at her, pressing a kiss to her hair, and said, "I'm crazy about you, you know that, right?"

"Oh, I know," she muttered into his shirt. "You drive me absolutely insane."

"Oh," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

She looked up at him with an incredulous expression on her face. "Fitzwilliam, don't be a dumbass," she said, "that's a good thing."

He smiled, leaning forward and planting a kiss on her lips. "Good." He kissed her again, parting her lips with his tongue. She moaned into his mouth, her tongue meeting his in a moist, needy clash. He pulled away from her mouth, trailing hot, blazing kisses down her nick, nipping and sucking at her flesh. She moaned loudly, saying, "I love you, Will."

"I love you, too, Elizabeth," he murmured back, reluctantly pulling his lips from her neck.

"I think I'm just going to… close my eyes for a bit," she murmured, feeling her eyelids droop as she buried her face in his chest again.

"Okay," he murmured, kissing her hair. "You're beautiful, Elizabeth."

He waited for her reply, but then he realized that she had already drifted off to sleep. Chuckling to himself, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, closing his eyes as well.

He peacefully drifted off to sleep.


	21. A Visit to the Town

A/N: I still own nothing

**A/N: I still own nothing. But hey, I can dream, can't I? Anyway, please keep reviewing! I love it! **

Chapter 21

"Will? Lizzy?"

Charley Bingley's voice rang out uncertainly in the darkness of the room. Only Will stirred at the sound of his voice, yawning and attempting to sit up before realizing that Elizabeth was still draped over him.

"Charley," he said, looking at his best friend, "what time is it?"

"Nearly midnight," Charley replied, smiling at Will. "I just dropped Jane off at her and Lizzy's room. She was worried when Elizabeth wasn't there."

"Oh," Will said simply. "After I ran out of dinner, we were talking here and we just sort of fell asleep."

Chuckling, Charley said, "You should've seen Elizabeth, Will. She flew off at the mouth. It was hysterical to watch. She gave Caroline the telling off she's had coming for years."

"I'm sure it was highly amusing," Will agreed, "but I was sort of… not in the mood."

"Yeah," Charley said, sobering suddenly.

In the mean time, Will was busying himself with trying to rouse Lizzy. "Lizzy," he murmured, poking her in the shoulder, "Elizabeth."

"Hmmm," she groaned, trying to bury her face further into Will's chest, as if it were a pillow. Within moments, she was asleep again.

Sighing, Will said, "I'm going to carry her to her room." He gathered her into his arms and stood, supporting her weight easily with his strong arms. He walked down the hallway to the room he knew she was sharing with Jane and somehow managed to knock on the door.

Jane appeared at the door within seconds, wearing a pair of sleeping shorts and a tank top. "Oh, there she is!" she cried happily, her tooth brush hanging out of her mouth. Realizing that she was brushing her teeth, she said, "Oh… sorry."

"That's all right," Will chuckled. "We were talking in my room and we both sort of dozed off. I tried to wake her up, but she sleeps like a rock."

"Don't I know it," Jane laughed. "Thanks for carrying her."

"No problem," he said, gently lowering Lizzy onto the nearest bed. "Is this bed hers?"

"Yeah," Jane said, retreating to the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth.

"Good night, Lizzy," Will murmured, kissing her softly on the lips. She smiled and mumbled something incoherent in her sleep, turning over onto her side. "Good night, Jane."

"Good night, Will," Jane called back after spitting into the sink. "Thanks again."

When Will returned to his room, he found a shirtless Charley looking at him expectantly. "What?" Will demanded, sitting down on his bed and taking off his shirt.

"So," Charley said, "somehow, I don't think Jane would appreciate the position you and Elizabeth were in when I came in. Oh, not to mention Chris and Jake."

"Nothing happened," Will told him, throwing up his hands defensively. "I swear to you, we just fell asleep."

"And I believe you," Charley said, being completely serious. "Just curious though… why haven't you?"

"Because it isn't proper," he said, lying back down onto his bed and pulling the covers on himself. "And besides, for all the comments she makes about it, I honestly don't think she's ready."

"Same with Jane," Charley murmured back, crawling into his own bed. "And of course, I'm not going to force her into anything, and I know you wouldn't do that to Lizzy."

"No, of course not," Will said, more to himself than to Charley. "Besides, I don't think _I'm_ ready yet."

TSTSTSTSTS

"William, wake up!"

The next morning, a pajama-clad Lizzy dove into Will's bed, landing rather roughly on top of him. Will groaned and shoved her off of him, sitting up and glaring at her. "What time is it?" he grumbled.

"It's half past nine," she replied, bouncing happily on his bed. "It's breakfast time."

"You slept well didn't you?" he asked, grinning at her knowingly.

"Yup," she replied.

"And when did you get dressed in pajamas?" he asked. "When I carried you to your bed last night, you were still wearing what you wore to dinner."

"Just now," she replied. "Everyone else is going to breakfast in their pajamas, and I didn't want to be left out."

"I'm guessing you wanted to wake me up," he said, chuckling and leaning toward her, kissing her on the forehead.

"Yeah," she said, grinning mischievously at him. "And maybe Charley mentioned you were shirtless. Maybe not."

"Oh, it's good to know you only like me for my six-pack," he chuckled, grabbing a white shirt from his suitcase on the floor next to the bed and pulling it on.

"Don't be silly, Will," she told him. "It's more like a four-pack, anyway."

TSTSTSTS

"Where did you guys go last night?" Chris asked as soon as Lizzy and Will entered the kitchen.

"We were talking," Lizzy replied, standing on her toes so she could grab cereal bowls for both her and Will.

"What about?" he pressed on.

"None of your business," she told him, grabbing the cereal box from him.

"Hey! I was going to use that!" he protested as she poured cereal into her bowl before handing it off to Will.

"Chris, I'd suggest you shut up before Lizzy kills you," Jake mumbled. "Or before _I _kill you. So help me God, Christopher, it is too goddamn early to hear your whining."

"What's with him?" Will stage-whispered into Lizzy's ear.

"Jake's not a morning person," she stage-whispered back, pouring milk into her bowl. She grabbed a spoon and then headed over to the table, Will taking the seat next to her within moments.

Chris sat on her other side, and asked, "So what's the plan for today?"

"I don't know," Elizabeth mumbled in reply through a mouthful of cereal.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Jake instructed her, frowning.

"Okay, 'Mommy'," she said, rolling her eyes at him. Turning to Will, she asked, "You know the area around here better than we do. What should we do today?"

"I think we should walk into town," he said, his blue eyes lighting up in excitement. "There's not a whole lot to see in terms of landmarks, but there's some good shopping and eating to be had."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Gee chirped happily, and both Bennet sisters nodded their heads in agreement.

"I'm game," Charley said.

"I'm in, too," Chris said, and Jake mumbled something incoherent, which everyone else at the table took to be his assent.

"Oh, William," Caroline purred, "must we walk into town? It's so… primal. Why can't we call a cab?"

"Because it's unnecessary and annoying," Will replied gruffly, anger flaring in his blue eyes. "Just like your presence. If you don't want to go, you don't have to. Actually, I think everyone else going would prefer it."

Caroline scowled at him and looked expectantly at everyone else at the table, as if expecting someone to defend her. She looked surprised and even angrier when no one said a thing, not even her brother. "Well, then, I can see no one wants me there," she said, sniffing and standing up from the table. "Come, Louisa."

"But I've only had five strips of bacon!" Louisa protested, taking a bite of a strip of bacon as she spoke.

"Come, Louisa!" Caroline screeched, stomping off, her chubby older sister following in her wake.

"Well, now that that's settled," Elizabeth said, breaking the silence that had followed Caroline and Louisa's departure.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish," Jake said cheerfully, sounding happy and alert for the first time that morning. "That made my morning."

"Alleluia," Chris said, staring up at the ceiling with an awed expression on his face, as if the heavens had just opened. "God has answered my prayer."

"Shut up, Chris," Elizabeth said. "It's not like you're suffering or anything."

"Oh, yeah? Who has to share a room with him for two months?"

TSTSTSTS

"It's so nice to have some girls only time."

Gee smiled and took a sip of her iced tea after she spoke, basking in the warmth of the sun that the outdoor patio of the café provided.

A waiter appeared out of nowhere by Elizabeth shoulder. "Madmoiselle?" he prompted her. "Vous ětes prěts?"

"Oui," she replied, smiling up at him. "Je voudrais l'agneau."

She looked expectantly at Gee, who, startled, replied, "Um… the chicken, please."

"Et le poulet," Elizabeth added, watching as the waiter scribbled it down onto his notepad.

"Fish, please," Jane smiled at her sister.

"Et les poissons," Elizabeth said. "Merci."

The waiter nodded and took off. As soon as he was gone, Gee said, "You speak French?"

Elizabeth nodded, saying, "So what were saying just before the waiter came, Gee?"

"I was saying that it's so nice to have some girls only time," Gee repeated. "I love Charley like a brother, and I love my own brother, and I like Jake and Chris, but it's nice to have some time to talk about girls' stuff."

"I agree," Elizabeth said wholeheartedly. "Jane?"

Jane looked up from her lap, and she had clearly not been paying attention to the conversation. "Huh?" she said, a dazed expression on her face.

Smiling mischievously at her sister, Elizabeth lunged across the table, grabbing Jane's phone from her lap and saying, "Aha! You've been texting Charley this whole time, haven't you?"

"Maybe," she muttered, blushing a furious red color. "But it's not as if you're completely boy-free either, Lizzy."

"What are you talking about?" she asked sharply. "I haven't _touched_ my phone since we got here."

"Then why have Jake and Chris been watching you for the past twenty minutes?" Jane said, smirking victoriously.

"What?" Lizzy said, looking surprised as she whipped her head around to follow Jane's gaze. Sure enough, Jake and Chris were sitting on a bench across the narrow street of the town, watching her in what they thought was a subtle manner behind local newspapers. "What are you two doing?" she called across the street.

"Reading the newspaper," Chris said, blushing and biting his lip, two things he always did whenever he lied. "Can't two guys read up on news in peace?"

"Those newspapers are in French," Elizabeth called back. "And I know for a fact that neither of you speak, much less read, French."

"How do you know? My mom speaks French, maybe she taught it to me," Jake called back, looking nervous. "Cet home est blesse."

Rolling her eyes, she informed him, "You just told me that this man is hurt."

"Jake!" Chris cried, slapping his friend on the back of the head. "You're an idiot."

"I always hear that on my mom's French hospital soap operas," he mumbled back.

Ignoring their stupid bickering, Elizabeth excused herself from Gee and Jane and crossed the street carefully, making her way over to Chris and Jake. "What the hell are you two up to?" she asked. "Are you just trying to annoy me?"

"Yes," Chris said quickly.

Too quickly.

"Yeah, you caught us, Lizzy," Jake said, grinning a little too widely. "You always know what we're up to."

She folded her arms across her chest and demanded, "Just how stupid do you two think I am? What are you up to?"

Jake and Chris exchanged worried glances. "Well…" Chris started, but she cut him off.

"Oh, I bet _Will_ has something to do with this," she said. "I should've known." She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, saying, "I'm going to call him."

"No, don't!" Jake said, reacting quickly and swiping her phone from her.

"Hey! Give it back!" she said, glaring at him and reaching for his throat.

"Only when you promise not to call Will," he said calmly, staring back at her with surprising tranquility. "He's trying to surprise you, don't ruin it for yourself."

Laughing dryly, she informed him, "I don't care if I ruin the surprise."

"He'll be crushed," Chris said softly. "He really doesn't want you to find out about this, and he sent Jake and me to keep him updated on your whereabouts. He really, really, _really_ doesn't want you to know."

"Is the surprise something I'm going to like?" she asked, eyeing her two best friends warily.

"Yes," Jake said confidently, nodding his head vigorously. "We are _absolutely_ sure you'll love it."

Sighing, she said, "All right, fine. I won't call him, and I won't try to find out about the surprise. I promise."

Jake made a move as if to give her phone back to her, but he paused, looking at her suspiciously. "Pinkie swear?"

Smiling, she wrapped her pinkie around his, saying, "Pinkie swear."

TSTSTSTS

Gee, Jane, and Lizzy met up with the boys at a small shop, but Charley and Will were missing. "Where are Charley and Will?" Jane asked, looking slightly disappointed.

"Um… Will didn't feel good, so he went back to the villa," Jake lied.

Poorly.

"Yeah," Chris piped up, glaring at Jake as he tried to cover for his pathetic lie. "Charley didn't think Will should walk back alone, so he went with him."

"Oh," Lizzy said, doing her best to look disappointed. She had a sneaking suspicion that this had something to do with Will's supposed surprise.

Sure enough, when she opened the door to her room that afternoon, she found Will sitting on her bed, grinning at her goofily. Behind him, a gift bag sat on the bed. "What's in the gift bag?" she asked with a snort, closing the door behind her. "It's not my birthday… it's not Christmas… so? What gives?"

"Oh, nothing," he said, trying to make his tone light and failing miserably. "Just a little something."

"What?" she demanded, making her way toward him with a sly smile. She sat down on his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist so that she was straddling him. "Tell me, Fitzwilliam," she whispered, her lips suddenly at his ear as her arms wrapped around his neck.

He groaned loudly, wrapping his own strong arms around her and lavishing kisses on her neck. She suppressed a moan, and he was so caught up in kissing her that he didn't notice when one of her hand left his neck and snatched the gift bag up from behind him. "Hey!" he cried as she jumped off of his lap, already rummaging through the gift bag. "I feel so used."

"Get used to it," she teased, throwing the gift paper behind her. She pulled a brown teddy bear out of the bag. "Will? What's this?"

He quickly put on his poker face, replying, "Apparently, the town just got a Build-A-Bear Workshop. It's really popular with the younger children."

"Okay," she said slowly, "but I don't understand what that has to do with me."

"Chris and Jake told me that you love stuffed animals," he said, his poker face failing and being replaced by a crestfallen expression. "They lied to me, didn't they?"

"No, no," she said quickly, flashing him a bright smile as she hugged the bear to her. "I _do_ love stuffed animals. I was just kind of surprised. Jake, Chris, and Jane are the only three people who know, I get kind of embarrassed about it, being seventeen and all. Well, now I guess you know, too."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "You have no reason to be embarrassed around me, Elizabeth."

"I honestly don't know why," she replied, sitting next to him on the bed. "It just never came to mind, I guess."

"Oh," he said, sounding doubtful. "Okay."

"I promise you, Will," she sighed, "if it had come up in conversation, I wouldn't have denied it, not to you."

"Okay," he said, sounding satisfied. "So you really like him?"

"Him?" she said, looking at him in surprise. "Who said it was a him? It could very well be a girl."

"I don't know," he said, shrugging. "I thought it was a he."

"If you say so," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Now… in my opinion, you need to make up to me for using me like that," he said, referring to how she had distracted him in order to snatch the bag from behind his back.

"Like you didn't enjoy it," she said, leaning closer to him nonetheless.

"Oh, I did," he murmured, "which is why I want more."

With that, he closed the distance between their mouths, pressing his lips to hers. He parted her lips with his tongue, cupping her cheek as she moaned into his mouth. She reached up, threading her fingers through his dark hair and pulling his face closer to hers. He hauled her onto his lap, pulling his lips from hers and trailing kisses down her neck. She moaned loudly, resting her head on his shoulder as he moved slightly lower, kissing her slightly exposed collarbone. His hands slowly slipped under her shirt, and her flesh burned wherever his hands came into contact with her flesh. She moaned again and then pulled away, burying her face in his chest determinedly. "What are you doing?" he chuckled, bending down and pressing a kiss to her hair. She shook her head into his chest, inhaling his scent deeply. She wished she had a way to describe his scent, other than 'Will', because someone could bottle it and sell it as cologne. His smell always made her feel at home, and safe. Which is partially why she stole his favorite black hoodie that he always wore. But he didn't need to know that. "Lizzy," he said softly, "what are you doing?"

"Hiding," she murmured into his shirt.

"Um… why?" he asked, rubbing her back tenderly. One of his hands drifted down to the small of her back, and the other cupped the back of her head, pressing it even further into his chest. He put his nose to her hair, inhaling _her_ scent, and wondering if she used perfume. He had never seen her use it, and he had never seen it in her room or bathroom or anything, but she somehow always smelled absolutely _amazing_.

She risked a glance up at him, her blue eyes peeking out at him from behind her hair. "I don't want you to see how badly I'm blushing. That last moan was pretty loud."


	22. A Parisian Night

A/N: Still, I own nothing

**A/N: Still, I own nothing. Thanks for all your support… in the form of reviews. **

**-cough, cough- Enjoy! **

Chapter 22

They planned their trip to Paris for their second week in France, and Charley, Jane, Will, Elizabeth, Chris, and Jake all planned on going. However, Charley came down with some sort of virus, and Jane didn't want to go without him. Which left Chris, Jake, Lizzy, and Will. But Elizabeth had a mind of her own.

"Chris, Jake?" she called, rapping her knuckles on the door to their bedroom.

"Come in!" Chris called back, and she opened the door to find the boys watching television.

"Can I talk to the two of you?" she asked, sitting down on Chris's bed, because it was closer to the door.

"Sure," Jake said, keeping his eyes trained on the television screen. Sighing, she stood from her seated position and turned it off. "Hey! We were watching that!"

"And now you're listening to me," she said smugly, smirking. "This is important. I know you guys like Paris and all, but since both of you have been there before, I'd really appreciate it if you guys dropped out of the trip for tomorrow."

"Why?" Jake said, his brows furrowing together in his confusion. "That would leave just you and Will."

While Jake seemed to be a bit slow on the uptake, Chris got her drift almost immediately. "Hell, no," he said, shaking his head furiously. "That just makes me more determined to go to Paris than _ever_."

"Chris," she said, "please."

"No," he said firmly, "there's no way in hell I'm going to let you go to Paris alone with your boyfriend just so you can finally sleep with him; I'm not going to let you make that mistake."

"Christopher Joshua Adams!" she said, growing extremely red in the face. "I can't believe you just accused me of that!"

"Well, what else could you possibly want to go to Paris alone with Will for?" Chris demanded, jumping to his feet.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jake said reasonably, coming to stand between his two best friends. "Let's not fight now, children."

"Christopher," Elizabeth said, still using his full name, "I've had about two hours of alone time with Will this entire week. Has it occurred to you that maybe I want to spend some quality time with him?"

"What for?" he demanded, pulling at his hair in frustration. "You're already dating him, how much better do you need to know him?"

"Because he's the first guy I've ever really believed I could end up marrying!" she snapped angrily, her blue eyes flaming.

Chris sighed, sitting back down onto his bed. "All right, fine," he mumbled, "I'll drop out of the trip."

"I will, too," Jake said, offering Elizabeth a small smile. "I hope you have fun with Will."

"Thanks, Jake," she said gruffly, walking past Chris without another word.

TSTSTSTSTS

She found Will in the general store of the resort, buying peaches.

"Donnez-moi un kilo de peches s'il vous plait," he said pleasantly to the man behind the counter.

"Choisissez!" the man said, smiling at Will cheerfully.

"Celle-ci… celle-la… celle-ci… celle-la…" Will said, picking out the best-looking peaches.

The man placed all the peaches he chose in a bag and handed the bag to Will, saying, "Voila, et avec ca?"

"C'est tout. Ca fait combien?" he said, rummaging around in his pockets for money.

"Huit francs." Will handed the money over, and the man said, "Merci!"

Will smiled back at the man, and then he spotted Lizzy. "Elizabeth," he said, looking pleasantly surprised, and holding his arms out to her, "what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you," she told him, shrugging and stepping into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, the peaches bouncing against her back, as she added, "Charley told me I could find you here."

"Yeah, Gee's been craving peaches," he informed her. "She doesn't speak French, so she asked me to get them for her."

"You're such a good big brother."

"I know," he said, grinning down at her. Then he noticed that she looked slightly forlorn, so he took her hand in his and began walking back to the villa, saying, "What's wrong? You look kind of down."

She sighed heavily. "I had a fight with Chris."

"Really?" he asked, sounding shocked. "I wasn't aware that the two of you were capable of fighting. With each other, that is. What was the fight about?"

"It's not important," she said, shaking her head, indicating that she didn't want to talk about it. Despite his curiosity, he kept quiet, knowing better than to pry into something she obviously didn't wish to discuss. Brightening, she said, "But Jake and Chris decided not to come to Paris, so it's just you and me."

"Really?" he said, and the fact that his blue eyes lit up and he perked up considerably did not go unnoticed by Elizabeth. "Why'd they decide not to come?"

Biting her lip, she said, "They've both been to Paris before, and they both decided that they'd prefer to relax on the beach instead of spending the week in the city."

"Oh," he said, sensing that she was lying. He had a hunch that this had something to do with her fight with Chris, so he didn't pry. "It'll be fun."

"Yeah," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder, "it'll be a great chance to spend a lot of time together."

He grinned down at her goofily. "I'm looking forward to it."

TSTSTSTS

"Hey, Liz."

Chris found Elizabeth alone in her room, curled up on her bed, her nose buried in a book. She looked up at him, both her face and her blue eyes devoid of any emotion, before returning to her book. Sighing, he took it to be a good sign that she didn't yell at him to get out and entered the room, taking a seat at the foot of her bed. "I just came to apologize," he told her softly. "I know I can be overprotective sometimes, but it's just because you're like my sister."

"You know that you, Jake, and me are all like siblings," she told him, dog-earing her page and closing her book, looking up at him. "You two are my brothers. But, Chris… honestly, that was ridiculous. Do you really think Will would take advantage of me like that?"

"No," he replied, "but if you came onto him, I don't think he'd be able to control himself."

"Jeez, you make me sound like a slut," she said, but the corners of her mouth twitched as she fought the urge to smile.

"I don't mean it like that," he said quickly, "I just mean that the two of you are obviously very serious about your relationship. But I don't want you to screw it up by sleeping with him prematurely."

"I know, Chris," she said, offering him a small smile. "You're just trying to protect me. But I just don't understand why every male in my life feels the need to protect me when I can take care of myself quite well."

"Brotherly instinct," he said, shrugging and grinning back at her. He looked down at his shoes, and then said, "Do you remember what I told you in the hospital? The first night you were there?"

"Which part of it?" she asked quietly.

"The part where I told you that you were my best friend and the thought of losing you scared me shitless," he replied.

"Ah, yes," she said. "I do remember that."

"The thought still scares me," he admitted softly. "A lot."

"Chris, you don't have to worry about losing me," she told him.

"Yeah, I used to think that," he muttered. Then he brought himself to meet her gaze, and said, "But if you think I'm bad with worrying, you should see Will."

"What do you mean?" she asked sharply.

"I'm just saying… if you think I'm scared shitless with the thought of losing you, he's absolutely paralyzed with fear."

She thought about the words for a moment, but then he said, "Plus, right now, you're jail bait for him."

"What do you mean?" she asked sharply.

"He's eighteen… you're seventeen," Chris said slowly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You're still a minor, and he's not. If he has sex with you, it's technically statutory rape."

TSTSTSTS

Elizabeth sat on the wide window sill of their hotel room in Paris, staring out into the streets of the city. Will was taking a shower, so she was taking the opportunity to admire the city, her iPod plugged into her ears, the voice of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler crooning into her ears.

_I could stay awake just to hear you breathing _

_Watch you smile while you are sleeping _

_While you're far away and dreaming _

_I could spend my life in this sweet surrender_

Suddenly, she felt strong arms wrap around her and water drip down onto the bridge of her nose. She looked upwards, smiling, and grinned, "Hey, Will."

Judging by how wet his hair was, he had just gotten out of the shower. He kissed her hair sweetly, and asked, "What are you listening to?"

"Aerosmith," she replied, "only one of the greatest bands of all time."

"Ah," he said, sitting down on the window sill next to her. Now she could see that he was wearing a red polo shirt and baggy khaki pants, his hair still dripping from the shower. "I was under the impression that you were eager to go out and explore the city. But, I guess, if you really want to, we could just stay in the room, watching television all day…"

"No!" she said quickly, jumping up and turning off her iPod. "No, I want to out!"

He chuckled at her, shaking his head like a wet dog as she pulled on her shoes.

TSTSTSTS

"So… I didn't know you spoke French."

Will gaped at Lizzy over his drink at dinner that night, looking completely shocked. She shrugged, and replied, "It didn't come up in conversation. When you say you want to get to know me, I don't tell you every single little detail about my life."

"Well, you speak it quite well," he told her.

"Thanks," she grinned back. "You do, too."

"So how do you like Paris?" he asked, leaning back in his chair and smiling broadly at her.

"I love it," she said happily, taking a sip of her water. "It's so beautiful here… and the Louvre was amazing. Thanks again for inviting me on this vacation, Will. I'm having such a great time."

"I'm glad," he told her happily, "that you're having a good time. And I'm glad that you came. I don't know how I'd live through two full months without seeing you."

"You seemed inclined to do that last summer when you went to New York with every intention of staying here," she told him, smirking.

"Well," he sighed, running a hand through his dark hair, "that was _before_ we were dating. And I was under the impression you still hated me."

"Yeah, well, Fitz fixed that," she muttered, causing him to chuckle. She had related to him, in full detail, her discussion with Fitz, including the part where she spat her frappuccino at him.

After they finished eating their dinner, Lizzy suggested that they walked to the hotel. About halfway there, Will finally started to complain. "Elizabeth, you're a very intelligent girl, but this is the stupidest idea you've ever had."

"Well, I'm sorry," she said, squeezing her hand in his. "It didn't seem that far away when we went to the Louvre."

"That's because we were in a cab," he chuckled, returning her pressure.

By the time they finally reached their hotel room, Elizabeth was dog tired. She grabbed her pajamas and her toothbrush and headed into the bathroom. After changing and brushing her teeth, she emerged and found that Will had already changed into a pair of sleeping pants. And he was shirtless.

"Could you please put a shirt on?" she begged, sitting down on her side of the bed and bouncing slightly.

"Why?" he demanded.

Instead of reply, she stood and made her way over to him, pressing her lips to his firmly. He moaned into her mouth as she opened it, her arms latching around his neck as his wrapped around her waist. He walked them both backwards, feeling the backs of his legs collide with the edge of the bed. His legs gave out, sending them both toppling onto the bed. His hands slipped under her shirt, and she moaned loudly. He took this as further encouragement and slowly slid her shirt up her back, pulling it over her head. He was only slightly surprised when her hands pulled his own shirt upwards and over his head.

Pressing his chest to hers, he lavished kisses on her neck and chest area, his mouth wandering down near her stomach. Her small, petite hands wandered down his abdomen and came to the waistband of his pants, her fingers dangerously close to his arousal. She fingered the waistband, and she slid the pants off for him, as he tried to do the same with hers.

He rolled them over so that she was pinned underneath him, his erection painfully obvious with the lack of his pants.

_What about being proper_? an annoying voice at the back of his head questioned.

Scowling to himself, he thought, _Screw propriety_.

However, her blue eyes grew wide as she pulled away from him, reaching for her shirt and her pants. "Elizabeth?" he said softly, when she was done redressing herself. He floundered for his own clothes, as he said, "Elizabeth, what's wrong?"

She had curled up into fetal position, her back to him, and he could see that she was shaking slightly. Cautiously, he made his way toward her, and rested a hand on her back. He half-expected her to flinch at his touch, but she seemed to relax into it, and she lifted her head. He was alarmed to see her blue eyes sparkling with tears. "What's wrong?" he asked again softly.

"I…" she said, her voice trailing off into uncertainty, and he could see her debating with herself internally, as she struggled to explain herself.

"You're not ready, are you?" he said, seeming to read her mind.

She nodded, a few tears spilling from her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Will," she mumbled. "I wasn't thinking, and I know how hard it must be for you to stop after getting so close… I'm so sorry."

"It's all right," he murmured softly.

"I thought I was ready," she whispered quietly. "But I guess I'm not."

"It's okay," he said reassuringly, pressing a kiss to her softly. "It's okay. I can wait."

"You're too good for me, Will," she muttered, kissing his cheek. Sobering, she added, "Plus, I'm jail bait."

"Huh?" he said, looking confused as his brows knitted together. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you being eighteen and my being seventeen," she said, sighing. "I'm jail bait. If we did have sex, it'd be statutory rape, even if I consent."

"Oh," he said. "Right. I didn't think about that… to be honest with you, I don't really even notice the age difference that much."

She beamed at him briefly, but then said, "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble because of me."

"What made you think of this?" he queried.

"Well, you remember the fight Chris and I had? It was because I asked him and Jake to back out of the trip to Paris. Chris said he didn't want the two of us to go alone so that I could get laid, and I told him that I just wanted to spend time with you. After he apologized, he mentioned that I'd be jail bait for you."

"This has really been bothering you, hasn't it?" he asked, looking down at her with concern written across his handsome face.

She nodded. "Not so much the jail bait part… just the fact that we're about nine months apart in age."

"Does that bother you?" he asked her, looking alarmed.

"No," she replied slowly, "but I was worried that it bothered you."

"Oh," he said, coming to a sudden realization. "Oh. You were worried that I didn't like dating someone younger than me?"

"I know it's stupid to worry about something like that after we've been dating for nearly a year," she mumbled, blushing a furious red color. "I guess it's just me being slightly insecure."

"You're not insecure," he told her firmly, lying down on the bed next to her. "You're one of the most personally secure girls I know."

"Thanks," she grinned, "but I do have my moments. It's hard to be completely secure when your boyfriend is incredibly handsome and every girl that sees him stops to stare."

"They do not!" he protested indignantly.

"They do, too," she told him firmly. "And I have to take your hand and kiss you before they get the idea and stop following you around."

"Well, if they got to know my personality, they wouldn't want to follow me around," he told her with a roguish grin.

"True enough," she agreed, chuckling and burying her face in his chest.

"Plus, I only care if one girl loves me or not," he said, winking at her.

"Oh, and who might that be?" she asked.

"You," he said simply, kissing her on the forehead.

Sounding satisfied, she said, "Good. Now, if you don't mind, I'm tired, and I'm going to go to sleep."

"Okay," he said agreeably. "Good night, Elizabeth. I love you."

"I love you, too," she murmured, snuggling against him as her eyes slowly drifted shut. She fell asleep within moments, leaving Will awake, reveling in the feel of her body against his.

He sighed aloud.

How did she do this to him?

Even when he couldn't believe it possible, she made him fall in love with her even more.


End file.
